Slyth's Story
by kalgornthehunter
Summary: "You're still looking at things through the eyes of a dog. Come, take a look through mine. See the world how i see it. See the world through the eyes of a wolf."
1. Dusty's Lament

Chapter 1

Dusty's Lament

Nome, Alaska was admittedly a pretty small town. It had a relatively low population but there seemed to be an abnormal amount of dogs. They were the only way for the post to be delivered to and from town. With such reliance on the animals, practically everyone was familiar one way or another with the dogs that made up the mail teams.

It was usually a pretty happy place to live. The community, both man and dog, felt reasonably comfortable about the town's safety. Bad things didn't happen here very often. Mostly infamous was the outbreak of diphtheria years back. The families that were affected owed a lot to the dog that saved them. Balto had became a hero overnight. That's a story everyone knew. It wasn't long afterwards that he became a father as well. Life was definitely much better for Balto. Time passed and his pups grew up way too fast. They were all deeply impressed by the wolfdog again when he, his son Kodi, Dusty, Ralph, Kirby, and the rest of the team managed to outrun the post by plane. It was a very proud day for the team.

Today, Nome had a completely different tone to it. It was a much more grim atmosphere, almost oppressive. Only days ago, their safe little town had been attacked. Only one life was taken, but it had happened so abruptly and without warning that everyone felt the impact. The peace of mind they had all had about how safe they were was gone now. What if the attack happened again? What would they do if it didn't stop? It was unnerving. People weren't staying outdoors after nightfall anymore.

Today, was the day the poor soul who had been taken from them was buried. The freshly turned up soil had barely even settled before the snow began to cover it. The grave had been marked with a small stone. Chiseled into the stone in big crude letters was the name 'KODI'

Everyone who knew him had grieved for him and his family. It was only made worse by the way Kodi had departed this world. He had been savaged something fierce. Broken, beaten and bleeding, his last hours had not been an easy way to go. He was spared a great deal of pain by being euthanized, after everything had been done for him that they could do, it wasn't enough. That didn't make it any easier to accept. It had still felt wrong to do it.

The only comforting thought was that his suffering was at least over.

"No one deserved it less than him."

"Nome won't be the same without him."

"I still can't believe he's gone."

One by one, everyone said their final goodbyes to the dog, either fighting back tears, or unashamedly letting them fall. Balto and Jenna were there, surrounded by their friends and family. Every dog of the sled team was there as well. Supporting each other as they coped with the pain of such a big loss. Jenna, his mother, weeped loudest of all. Balto still appeared to be in shock. His eyes welled up several times but not one tear ever fell. He simply held Jenna while they listened to what everyone had to say about their son.

Emotions conflicted harshly in his chest as words of praise and respect for Kodi reached his ears. Words had utterly failed him, but he was beyond grateful for everyone who was there. Pride swelled inside him, then burst into a terrifying wave of pain of the worst kind. This son of his he was so proud of. . . he would never see him again.

The weight of it threatened to break him. He was certain it would until he finally had to let it out.

Taking everyone quite by surprise, Balto threw his head up and let out one long, loud, almighty howl. The note carried on and on, conveying every bit of the pain he felt in his heart.

Some of the dogs who had managed to hold their tears back at this point completely gave in to them. A few even joined in and added their voice to Baltos. His brothers and sisters joined in. Ralph, and Kirby joined as well.

It was a wave of emotion so pure and sad, given life and made into sound. It resounded on them all without mercy. By time Baltos lungs emptied and the sound finally ended, the only one left who still wasn't crying was Balto. Jenna had buried her nose into his chest and sobbed against him.

Silence fell then. Balto bowed his head in respect before giving each and everyone there a look of gratitude. As his eyes moved from sad face to sad face, he began to feel a slight warmth. Dark days may be upon them again, but it was comforting to know he was not alone. Not in the slightest. He smiled.

It was a weak one, but hope hadn't completely fled from him. In fact, he knew it was all around him.

There was only one person absent from the gathering. Dusty was so beside herself with grief. To see his body again, so broken and lifeless, would have certainly destroyed her sanity. She had been the one who had found him after the attack. She had been the one who dragged him to the hospital. Not once did she leave his side the entire night.

So much happened between them in his final hours. It pained her beyond belief to see him in such pain. Even then, Kodi refused to complain. He was just happy to see her. Just before the end, he had actually confessed his love for her. Dusty's heart, so heavy with grief and left in literal pieces after his passing, had felt so full of joy to hear him say that. She had never felt love and passion so strongly for someone.

Her mind couldn't let this memory go. It drove white hot knives into her chest every time, but it was stuck on an unending cycle. She would see his eyes staring into hers and she would stare back. Full of hope and certain he was going to be ok. Then she would see his body lying motionless, his eyes shut forever, and she stood over him, unable to come to terms of how this had happened. Anger welled up in her that he had been taken from her so cruelly. Surely there could be no bigger injustice to her.

Sadness, pain, and grief was all she knew anymore now. So complete was her anguish, she couldn't focus on anything anymore. Her mind went back in forth endlessly from fragmented images of Kodi, to long periods of utter numbness. It was like her mind simply could not cope and would literally shut off. Her eyes stared at nothing. Completely empty, still, and unblinking.

No one else knew about the brief time she and Kodi had been together. It crushed everyone when they had found out, but no one completely shut down like she had.

Dusty spent the days sitting in the same spot, not even caring how uncomfortable she became. Though she had been told Kodi was to be buried today, she hardly acknowledged it. If she had, it may have been the very thing to send those agonizing thoughts back to the front of her mind, freshly renewed and back to take even more of Dusty away.

At some point during that day, completely unaware of what was going on at Kodi's wake, the sound of Balto and all the others howling reached her ears. Her ears twitched once, otherwise, she was completely unresponsive. Then it grew louder as more gave their voice to the call. Her ear twitched again and she blinked.

The haze cleared enough for her to recognize the sound. All hope in the sound was completely lost on her. All she could understand was the agony in the sound. Completely isolated in her home, she cried so fiercely that she lost all consciousness for a few hours.

Later, she felt someone nudge her gently. She opened one red and swollen eye to see Ralph and Kirby standing in front of her. They looked awful. Her mind could barely associate the names with their faces.

"Dusty. . . you should have been there with us today. You shouldn't be alone while you're like this" Ralph's voice sounded hoarse.

"He's right, you know" Kirby's voice sounded just a hoarse. "None of us should be alone. We're all gunna need help to get through this."

Dusty couldn't bring herself to speak. It may not have been completely gone yet, but there was an absolute lack of desire to say anything. The only thing she wanted was to be alone. She sniffled and closed her eye.

They both slept beside her that night. Doing their best to console her when her woe threw her back into fitful sobs. When she stilled and went silent, concern filled them. It couldn't be helped however. Any and all mention of Kodi only aggravated her pain.

They fell asleep uneasily. It was so late by then that it had gone completely dark outside. Moonlight bathed the three of them through the window.

Without knowing why, Dusty stood up. Her legs trembled under her but it meant nothing to her. Nothing did anymore. Just one thing was left in her, one last desire.

Her whole body shivered once she stepped out into the night. Somehow, she knew where to go. Without looking up once, her paws carried her slowly. She didn't stop until she was there; at Kodi's grave.

She sat and looked at it passively for a moment. She curled up beside it and lay her head on the mound of turned up soil. Everything important to her lay there with her. Buried and gone forever. The cold wind and snow chilled her body, but she didn't move. Trying to ignore the pain in her chest, she let herself fall asleep there.

The next morning both Ralph and Kirby awoke rather alarmed at Dusty's absence. With one look at each other, they knew exactly where she would have gone. They hurried off, prepared for the worst. If she had been out all night. . . The thought only made them quicken their pace.

Sure enough, when they approached Kodi's burial, they found Dusty curled up against the stone with his name on it. Shivering madly but hardly looking bothered by it. Her cheeks were wet with fresh and old tears and she was absently rubbing her nose on the ground in subtle arches, as if she were trying to get closer to him. Altogether, it was a heartbreaking sight.

"Dusty. . . this isn't healthy. You've got to stop before you make yourself sick" Kirby nestled himself against her shuddering body.

"We're all worried about you, Dusty. You don't have to go through this alone." Ralph joined them, putting himself against her other side.

If she was even aware they were there, she didn't show it. Their words were falling on deaf ears. She was so far gone at this point that she only heard a couple fragmented bits of their words.

"stop. . . go. . . alone. . ."

It barely had any meaning to her anymore. Nothing had meaning anymore. All of that was buried beneath her now. Her body slowly stopped shivering thanks to her friends but, inevitably, her quivering began. After a while that stopped too.

Eventually they made it back home with Dusty. They had to practically carry her the whole way. Her willingness to move her legs that morning was not the same as it was last night. They had to walk on either side of her, keeping her from falling every time she stumbled. With how weak she was, it was incredible she ever made it out there on her own.

It felt like a miracle when they finally got her home and out of the cold. The two male dogs were more than happy to feel the warmth and comfort of home and to finally fill their bellies. Dusty, however, went right back to the same spot she always slept, curled up into a ball, and went straight to sleep. Kirby watched her pitifully.

"We've got to do something, Ralph. Soon. Or we might. . . we might lose Dusty too" It was difficult to say the words but he knew they were true.

Ralph nodded his head, looking sadly from Dusty to Kirby.

Another day passed by and Dusty still showed no signs of improving. Her body was beginning to thin, she barely moved at all anymore.

Their owner finally took her to the vet to find out what was wrong with her but when he brought her back home, she looked just a hopelessly lost as before. The vet had told him that there was in fact, nothing wrong with her. She was one of the healthiest dogs he'd seen. His only suggestion was to up her food. Underfed was the only thing he could see wrong.

"She won't eat. I've given her food but she won't touch it" he pleaded. The only thing they could do was put her on a soft food diet which could be force fed to her.

The next few days became a routine for them. Dusty steadily thinned more and more. Every night she disappeared and every morning she was found sleeping by Kodi's grave. Ralph, Kirby and a few other dogs from the team would carry her home and she would remain motionless the whole day. Completely unresponsive to their attempts at comforting her. None of their efforts could even reach her anymore.

Later in the day their owner would force feed Dusty her wet food while the rest of them ate. She didn't even fight it anymore. He would press the food into her mouth and she would swallow, hardly even tasting a bit of it. She would go back to her spot afterwards and curl back up. Sometimes falling asleep, other times only pretending. Without fail however, come nightfall, she would stand up and stumble her way back to Kodi's grave.

Laying down against it, she felt the all too familiar pang in her chest build up again. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? The will to live was completely gone from her. How could she want to live when every moment of the day was filled with pain? It was unbearable. If she could die, she would be with Kodi again. That was all she wanted. To linger here only meant more suffering.

When the sun came up the next day, she was still awake, hardly moving or making a sound. Her friends that she had all but forgotten about were there for her. A whimper escaped her as they took her away from Kodi again. There was no fight left in her to try to resist.

Instead of taking her home, today they took her somewhere different. An unwelcome warm feeling washed over her when they entered the boiler room. Kirby and Ralph took her to the very front and set her down.

The chatter had died immediately once they entered. Almost a whole week had passed since Kodi had died and this was the first time most of them had seen Dusty since.

She was nothing more than a shadow of herself. There was none of the old happiness in her. It was pretty clear to everyone there that she was a dog waiting to die. A low rumble of hushed voices slowly started.

Kirby and Ralph nodded at each other before Kirby stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Guys. . . I know we all felt it when we lost Kodi" he paused, looking around at all the faces watching him or looking down at Dusty. "One of us is hurting really bad. I'm worried but more than anything. . . I'm scared. I'm afraid if we don't do something soon, I think, no. I know. I know we'll lose Dusty too."

The hushed voices quieted as he went on. He paced back and forth, making sure to keep Dusty visible to them all.

"Nothing could have been done to save Kodi, but I know we can do something to save Dusty. I'm not willing to give up on her" his voice may have sounded nervous when he began but it gained strength as he continued.

Dusty couldn't understand why they were doing this to her. Why was she being brought in front of so many dogs? Why couldn't they just leave her be?

Kirbys words didn't have much meaning to her, she just wanted this to be over. This and everything else. To put an end to it all. She wanted them to let her go so she could go back to Kodi.

"Kodi . . . "

Her ears twitched when Kirby mentioned the name. Her heart banged painfully in her chest.

"Please make it stop" she pined. Her voice sounded so unlike her own, she didn't recognize that she had even spoken. "I can't stand it any longer." Her lip trembled, a fresh wave of painful emotions threatening to overtake her again.

Kirby stopped and turned back to her. Before he could react, Ralph was there. The large dog barked his approval. "I can't stand it anymore either, Dusty. Watching you do this to yourself, it's unbearable." His voice was not unkind.

"We need you to come back to us Dusty. What would Kodi say if he saw you like this?" Kirby added.

Dusty shook her head, her mouth open like she was trying to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Her bloodshot eyes looked at Ralph without understanding.

The other one, Kirby, was there too then. Their words swam in her head, becoming disconnected and turning into a big garbled mess she could only pull a few words out of.

"Kodi . . . come back . . . it's unbearable" she mumbled the words, barely even audibly.

Dusty blinked at the two dogs standing over her, feeling afraid and lost. They said something else to her but the haze that clouded her mind was coming back and she couldn't make out anymore of their words.

More dogs showed up and gathered around her. All of them looking at her with odd expressions. She was beginning to feel like some kind of spectacle they were all crowding around to watch. Several more dogs pressed in. What did they want? Beginning to feel trapped, Dusty tried to back away from them but they were behind her now. With no way out, she began to panic. Her eyes darted around at everyone surrounding her, watching their lips move without speaking any words.

"Please . . . go." They were the only words that didn't choke her or get stuck in her throat. They came out as a weak but desperate sound.

Almost every dog in the boiler had approached Dusty to support her. Very much like the way they had united around Balto and Jenna when Kodi had been buried. A few dogs had actually left the room.

There was one who hadn't bothered to move yet. He watched Dusty closely from his spot at the back. Maybe it was just him, but he didn't understand how no one else seemed to notice the panic spreading on Dusty's face.

However good their intentions were, Dusty was in a right state and this was clearly not helping matters for her. He shook his head and stood up. With one loud bark, he managed to get the rooms attention.

Only when they had all turned around to look at him did he step out of the shadows. When he did, he heard a sudden gasp from Dusty. Her eyes gleamed wetly, staring unblinking at him. The lost and dull eyes she had had moments ago were gone.

That rust-red fur, that powerful build, that handsome face. . . there was only one dog it could be.

'It's Kodi!'

The impossible thought went through her mind the moment she saw the new dog. All of her fear was abated in an instant. If it weren't for all the dogs around her, she would have run to him then. She tried to call to him but she had no more voice. Her heart leapt when his eyes met hers.

"I don't think you guys are aware of what you are doing to her" He said it calmly, looking at each of them in turn. "No words can mend a broken heart. How is she even supposed to breath with you lot crowding her like that?" Silence fell after his words.

His resemblance to Kodi was not lost on the rest of them. The whole room was temporarily stunned by it. Only Dusty actually believed he was Kodi though. The rest of the room picked up on the subtle differences between them and none of them were broken enough to think a dead dog could be with them again.

Kirby was the one who finally broke the silence.

"Who . . . are you?" He asked, watching the dog closely.

"I'm Slyth. I'm new here, actually."

Kirby looked from Slyth to Ralph then turned back to Slyth. Before he could say anything else Slyth spoke again.

"Come on now, are you gonna keep asking me questions or are you gonna give the poor girl some space?" He stepped closer to them.

A couple dogs did take a few hesitant steps back then. Most of them didn't budge. It was like they thought he was going to attack Dusty if they gave him a chance. Ralph and Kirby were among them.

"What was it you said about a broken heart?" Ralph asked after noticing the look Dusty was giving Slyth. He was the first dog that she actually appeared to see. The blank expression on her face was gone.

Slyth noticed this too but he ignored it for the moment.

"I didn't know him, but I heard about what happened here." He began, taking a few steps closer and sitting down. "Your Dusty here must have been in love with Kodi. She can't let go of him because she's too heartbroken to say goodbye. I think she would rather pass on to be with him than do that." He said the last part slowly, looking closely at Dusty while he did.

"If you didn't know him, then you have no idea how much you look like him, do you?" It was Kirby who spoke this time. "If you know what's wrong with her, do you know how we can help her?"

Slyth had in fact not been aware at all how much he looked like Kodi. But he only shrugged his shoulders at this bit of information.

"Do I? I'm sorry we never got the chance to meet. What happened to him was awful." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry to tell you more bad news but, there's nothing you can do for Dusty. Her heart and mind are in pieces right now. It's up to her to decide if she can move on or not."

He looked back up at them all, knowing it was not the words they wanted to hear. "She might pull through, or she might not. I will say though, for the third time, give her some space!"

The dogs surrounding Dusty finally backed up. They must have accepted that he wasn't a threat to her or any of them and reasoned that his advice was sound.

Though they backed up and gave her more room, Kirby and Ralph stayed beside her. Pleased with himself, Slyth stood back up. He was unsure whether to go try and speak to Dusty or leave at this point.

She still hadn't taken her eyes off him so he decided to go say something to her. If he really did look like Kodi, it stood to reason that his words might get through to her.

As he approached her, her tail actually began to wag back and forth, thumping weakly against the floor.

Kirby and Ralph stared at him, but they took a few steps back from her all the same.

She didn't stand up when he reached her, only gaped up at him. She didn't look like she had the strength for it. Tears ebbed on the corners of her eyes. Looking at them, he could tell they used to be beautiful eyes, but so much sadness and pain had stolen much from them. She had the tired look of someone who had lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time. Her fur coat looked like it was thinning as well.

Slyth licked his lips, trying to say something to her. What do you say to someone who was so sad though?

"Hay Dusty" he started to say, but she cut him off by throwing herself against him more forcefully than he could have believed she was capable of.

Without a word she wrapped her neck around his and buried her nose in his fur. Rather stunned, it took Slyth a second to realize she was crying. He let her stay there and pour her emotions out into his fur.

Soon he found he had to support her as she leaned more and more against him. It didn't seem like her tears would ever end. They only got stronger and louder. It was some of the most heartbreaking cries he'd ever heard.

With no attachment to her or the dog she loved so much that he looked like, Slyth began to feel her sorrow cutting into his own chest.

The pain in her cries was so terrible he was certain it would soon tear even him apart. Tears filled his own eyes despite himself.

It might have gone on for an hour, or it might have gone on for a whole day. Slyth could not have said. Eventually, Dusty did calm down. It wasn't all at once, but slowly. Gradually her bawling turned to sobbing, then to whimpering. Finally she quieted. She wouldn't leave their embrace though. Even after she went silent she still rubbed her nose against his neck, the same way she would against Kodi's grave.

It took Slyth a few minutes to finally pull himself from her. Looking her in the eyes again, he couldn't be sure she would ever be ok again. That much sadness in someone would surely kill them. Something in her eyes had changed though. Were they more focused or were they less?

His eyes looked sadly into hers, wishing he could do something for her. Maybe the ache he felt in his heart now meant he had taken some of her pain from her. It was comforting to think so.

"Goodbye, Dusty." Bowing his head at her, he turned away and gave both Ralph and Kirby a nod before departing the room.

Dusty watched him go feeling weaker than she had ever been before. So much had poured out of her, there wasn't much left. Slyth had done more for her than he could ever know. Her mind was still mixed up but she felt that maybe the haze clouding her thoughts had cleared. Even if it was just the tiniest bit.

"Dusty. . . " Ralph approached her, looking disturbed.

Dusty's eyes flickered up to him. Ralph seemed startled that she was actually looking at him. It felt like it had been ages since she had. His face finally clicked in her mind.

"R-Ralph?"

He beamed at her. Kirby came up next and was overjoyed when she was able to speak his name too. If only barely.

"We should get you home, Dusty." Kirby suggested. Dusty shook her head.

"No." She said it as firmly as she could manage. "To him."

Sometime passed before they managed to get Dusty to Kodi's grave. They sat together in silence looking at it. Both Ralph and Kirby almost expected Dusty to say something, but she didn't. She just lay down between them. For several long moments they waited.

At least an hour passed this way. Dusty never took her eyes off the stone with Kodi's name on it. She surprised them both when she sat back up. They watched her rub her nose against the stone and heard her voice only just barely manage to say "Goodbye, Kodi."

The next few days that went by showed an alarming change in Dusty. She improved significantly once she had let Kodi go. Still too weak to do much however, she hadn't seen Slyth again since. He had allowed her to finally get some closure. That was ultimately what was eating her up inside. Everything had been taken from her so suddenly, there had been no chance for a goodbye. A terrible emptiness still filled her, but it no was no longer consuming her. That's the way it would probably always be without Kodi.

One day, she was going to have to say thank you to Slyth.


	2. Dart

Let me just start by saying I struggled hard with writing this chapter. I thought I had it done several days ago but when I read through it to check for errors, I saw that I had contradicted myself on a lot of things. I had to go back and answer a lot of questions I didn't know the answers to yet. Ended up having to rewrite huge pieces of it two or three times to get everything where i liked it.

Also, I'll go ahead and let you know, some chapters may be more adult than others. I kind of just let the story flow. Sometimes what i write is far from the way it was in my head.

Evil-Copper and Roguewolfpack2, thank you so much for the reviews. I'm really glad you liked the first chapter and I hope chapter 2 is just as good!

Chapter Two

Dart

 _This isn't good. This is_ not _good. Oh, this is so not good. He's going to be so angry. . . this wasn't supposed to happen!_

Tonight had actually been a night the jet black female collie had been looking forward to. Now, however, it had changed to terrible dread. She and two others were supposed to meet with their leader, a large white shepherd named Dart, and she couldn't wait to hear his praise for completing their job without a single problem.

But then she found out that the dog had died. Word of his death had spread fast. The news hit her pretty hard for someone who didn't know the dog.

If he was dead, then they had failed. She wasn't yet aware why he was so important, but she had been told not to kill him, and now he was dead. Whatever the reason was, that didn't matter to her. She had failed.

She had spent most of the last few days in the boiler room, keeping her ears open for any mention of what had happened to the dog. At first, it seemed like an odd coincidence that the very same night they had pulled off their plan, a dog named Kodi had been euthanized.

The more she listened, the more she started to feel like something wasn't quite right.

One week went by and finally the morning came. She had found a meal and brought it back into the boiler room with her.

As she ate, she listened to a group nearby converse about a dog named Dusty.

"She hasn't been seen since he died."

"I heard she's been sleeping at his grave every night since they buried him."

"She's in a right state, the poor dear."

 _Poor girl. . ._

They continued talking about what had happened to Kodi, like it was the first time they had heard about it.

"Why did he get put down anyway?"

"Collapsed lung I think."

"How could you tell that?"

"Saw him. Before they put him in the ground."

"No you didn't."

"I did. One side of his body was all swollen up. He looked like he'd been through the mill."

"What do you reckon happened to him?"

"Dunno, couldn't say for certain. He was pretty banged up."

"Do you think he was abused?"

"Possibly. Something got a hold of him. Beat the hell out of him from the look of him. Or maybe. . . someone."

She almost choked on her food at this.

 _It can't be. . ._

Just then, the door swung open and three more dogs walked in. A large brown dog, an even bigger gray dog, and between them, what looked like the ghost of what used to be a dog.

Without knowing who the other two were, there could be no mistaking who the third was.

In a blink, all the chatter stopped. After so much noise around them, such silence seemed deafening.

She watched them carry Dusty to the front. What they said had very little meaning to her, but it was plain as day that Dusty was miserable.

Suddenly, dogs all around her were getting up and surrounding Dusty. She was one of the few who didn't. All she could do was watch from her spot in the shadows.

When Slyth stepped forward, her jaw dropped. Her worst fears confirmed. Unable to bare watching anymore, that was when she made her exit. Leaving the remainder of her meal behind.

The rest of her day was spent in various states of sickness and worry. Her mind played that night over and over, trying to puzzle out how it had gone so wrong. The whole while, watching the sun rise and fall. At last, as the sky darkened steadily into nightfall, It was time to go. At first she walked slowly until she left the town borders. Then she jogged and eventually sped up to a sprint.

They were all supposed to meet in a private location out in the rocky hills and bluffs about three miles away, well away from any prying ears. The closer she got, the more uneasy she felt.

She looked around warily once she had arrived at their normal place. It was a small relief to see she was the only one there, however briefly.

In next to no time, the other two dogs showed up. Both of them looking about as bad as she felt. They looked at each other, but said nothing.

Her ears flicked up at the sound of approaching steps from behind her. They all bowed their heads then. Dart had arrived.

"You are without a doubt, the _dumbest_ dogs i've ever met." Every one of his words seethed with malice. "I wonder if you even realize how _badly_ you blundered this incredibly _simple_ task. . ." The large dominating shepherd looked intensely at each of the dogs in front of him with an expression of sheer loathing.

"I thought I made it _quite_ clear that you were _not_ to kill him." His voice was completely calm, despite the anger his words carried. He kept his voice low, closer to a whisper. Which was actually, somehow, worse than him shouting.

One of the three cowering dogs in front of him foolishly spoke up then. "But, boss we - "

" _BUT_ . . . what?" He interrupted the dog, rounding on him viciously. Unmistakable rage in his expression. The dog, a mixed grey male, realizing his mistake a moment too late, didn't respond. He shrank down and turned his head away.

"I believe you had something you wanted say, Gabriel?" The large shepherd growled, his face mere inches away. There was no response. Just a small, terrified whimper.

He stood over him, teeth showing, daring him to speak again. When the dog didn't, he stepped away, completely disgusted.

"Pathetic" He spat, then looked at the other two dogs who immediately averted their eyes.

"Perhaps one of you have something you want to say?" He now wore a cold smile.

Silence hung thickly in the air for several long moments. Then, surprisingly, the smaller brown male in the middle, a husky, stepped forward.

"Yes, Storm?"

"Dart, I mean sir, we. . . we. . ." It looked like his courage had failed him before he could finish. Neither could he stand to look back at him any longer.

"Yes?" Dart repeated, now approaching him.

Storm stuttered a few times then shook his head. Finally, he stomped his paw forcefully into the snow "Sir, we didn't kill him!"

"And yet he _is_ dead." Dart was rather calm now, like he had expected this. His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, then, how exactly did that come to be. . ."

Storm flinched at his words. His mouth hanging open, a look of regret falling on him. "I. . . I don't know, sir."

Dart rounded on him at these words.

"Now, _imagine_ that. You don't know. . ."

Storm winced and retreated back.

Dart stepped away, looking at both Storm and Gabriel with revulsion. He turned to the last dog. "Ah. . . Nikki."

She was the only one who didn't cower when he spoke. It wasn't fear in her eyes, not completely. it was more like shame.

"Maybe you would like to explain it to these two then." It sounded like a question, but she knew it wasn't.

She met his gaze for a moment, then bowed her head. Speaking to the ground, rather than any of them in a trembling and low voice. "He died of his wounds."

The silence fell heavily again on them all. Nikki's legs began to shake under the weight of it and Darts stare.

"Exactly. . ."

Dart paced around her a few times, hardly paying any more attention to the other two. The look on her face looked more and more pained with each step that crunched into the frozen snow.

"I wonder if you are even aware of what else you did wrong."

Nikki couldn't bare to look up at him. She knew alright, but she couldn't stand to admit it. The iciness of his words cut into her and she trembled, fully expecting him to hit her.

"Yes. You do know. Of course you would Nikki." He reluctantly turned to the other two dogs. "Can either of you two tell me?"

Gabriel and Storm looked up then, both of them looking lost and stunned.

"That's what i thought. I'll put it this way. I told you to get rid of a dog for me, a certain _wild_ dog. One that you have seen before in fact. What you actually did, was _kill_ a _local_ dog. One who had absolutely nothing to do with your job."

He grew visibly more and more heated as he spoke, now pacing back and forth from Gabriel, to Storm, to Nikki, and back to Gabriel. Both Gabriel and Storm still looked lost, or were in denial.

It was Nikki who finally spelled it out for them. "We attacked the wrong dog."

At first, Dart didn't say anything. He stopped in front of her and looked her over.

"Right you are, Nikki." He felt suddenly annoyed at the pained expression on her face.

"That dog. . ." Dart began, lifting one of his paws up and examining a claw interestedly.

"Wasn't. . ." he suddenly raised his paw.

"Slyth!" He then hit Nikki so hard, she was knocked to the ground.

She cried out, three long cuts burning on her cheek from the blow. He stood over her and pressed his paw to her throat threateningly. She didn't make one move to fight back. It was like she felt that she deserved this. The pain she felt went deeper than just physical.

Dart didn't let her back up for several long minutes, practically nose to nose with her. He could see a lot of emotions battling each other in her eyes but did not care. Not then at least, he was actually kind of enjoying it. No, he was really enjoying it.

He bared his teeth, daring her to say something else. All he needed was one more reason and he might just end her life right here. A few tears welled up in her eyes and her lip trembled but she didn't make a single sound. It felt like ages went by before Dart finally got off her. He pulled his paw away and stepped over her.

When Nikki got back to her paws, she looked mortified. She put one of her paws against her stinging, bleeding cheek, then drew it away. The sight of her own blood made her cringe.

Gabriel's eyes shot back and forth from Nikki to Dart then to Storm. Trying to make sense of what he had just heard.

"But we followed him. We made sure that it was Slyth before we did anything." It was Gabriel this time. Again, speaking without thinking. "He looked just like Slyth."

Unfortunately for him, Dart had ran out of patience with this and he had just stopped in front of Gabriel.

Dart hit him so fast and so hard, Gabriel had no time to react. His body dropped like a rock.

Gabriel's world went spinning then. He barely had time to think before he felt one clawed paw press down very firmly on his cheek, pressing his face into the snow. He began to yell when he felt the claws sink deep into his flesh.

Nikki and Storm looked away, wincing at the dogs tortured sounds.

"If you're not going to use your eyes, I don't think you need them." Dart seethed into his ear.

His claws began to rake across Gabriel's face, slowly cutting their way to his eye.

Gabriel felt the sudden warmth and wetness on his face as the blood began to flow down his cheek and over his muzzle and even into his eye. Just when he was certain Dart would close it forever, he felt some deep seeded courage he had never known was there well up in him. Without thinking, he reached one paw up and sank his claws into some part of Dart. Wherever he had found the courage to do it, he must have also found the strength. With a tremendous effort, he managed to push Dart off him. When he found himself back on his paws, he almost moved to attack Dart. Anger burned in him almost as bad as his face. Somehow, he resisted the urge. Maybe because he knew he couldn't beat Dart, or maybe because things started spinning again.

Dart snarled and jumped back from Gabriel. More surprising still was the sudden laughter that burst from him audibly. There wasn't a trace of anger in the look Dart now gave the dog before him. He was smiling, looking delighted by what had just happened.

"Well, well, well. Gabriel. I'm shocked! You do have some fight in you after all!"

Gabriel had no response. He panted from the effort and looked back at Dart stoically out of one eye, half his face matted with blood.

"You should have let me take the eye. Pity. That's a good look for you. Now you look more like someone I wouldn't want to mess with." Dart flashed a toothy smile at him.

Gabriel still said nothing.

"You seem to have finally learned how to hold your tongue as well. That's very good. I think you're not as hopeless as I had thought."

Dart looked over to Storm and help up his blood stained paw "Anything you care to add, Storm? Maybe you'd like one to match Nikki and Gabriel here. . ."

Storm looked terrified by the very thought. He shook his head slowly from side to side. "N-no, sir."

Dart rolled his eyes and turned away from them. The fun was gone now. He was done with them. Without even turning to look at them again, he barked one time. "Go."

Then, almost like an afterthought "Not you, Nikki."

He waited for the sound of Gabriel and Storm's steps to fade away before turning around to look at her. Snow still clung to her fur in patches here and there. Her cheek was still bleeding too. Small red drops fell from her face as he watched her. She met his gaze and stepped closer to him.

"You're hurt." Her voice was small and there was real, genuine concern in it. She cast her eyes down to Dart's shoulder where Gabriel had opened up a long jagged gash. His blood trickled down his arm to his paw where it mingled with Gabriel's blood.

There was something to be said about the fact that she was more concerned about Dart's wound than the one he had inflicted on her.

Dart looked down at it for the first time, as if he only just noticed. He shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

"Nice one from Gabriel, the brainless wonder."

Nikki bent her head down towards the wound to lick it clean but Dart pushed her back with one paw.

"That won't be necessary Nikki."

She frowned and started to say some kind of objection but Dart cut her off.

"That's not what I had you stay behind for." For a moment, he actually sounded kind. His smirk fell to a frown when another drop of blood dripped from her fur, drawing his eyes back to her face and what he'd done to her.

"You know I hate it when you make me hurt you." He almost sounded regretful now.

Nikki smiled "I don't mind. I don't like it either, but I know you only hit me when I deserve it."

"Yes. . . only when you force me too, and you definitely had it coming to you tonight."

Nikki bowed her head.

"But you already knew that. . . of course you did." His voice had gone back to its normal cold tone.

"I hope you understand how much this. . . _complicates_ things." He breathed.

She shuffled her paws, clearly fighting the urge to speak.

"I would have expected nothing more from those two. But not you Nikki. . . I'm _very_ disappointed in you."

The words seemed to hurt her more than if he had hit her again. She broke her silence then, unable to contain the words any longer.

"Let me fix it! I can do it, I can make it right." She sounded determined. The pained expression transforming into an intense look that masked any and all pain she might have still felt. It made Dart chuckle.

"How exactly do you plan to bring back the dead?"

Not to be outdone, Nikki shook her head. "There's another way." Dart didn't respond so she continued. "I don't think Slyth even suspects our mistake. I thought he might but when I saw him in town today, he only talked to some girl who looked pretty upset about the dog that died."

"The dog you killed, you mean."

Nikki winced at his words, but nodded her head all the same.

"So you think you deserve a second chance?"

Nikki nodded her head again. "I know I do, and I am going to go alone this time."

Dart laughed. "Oh Nikki, are you trying to impress me? Did Gabriel make you jealous?"

Nikki actually laughed with him this time. "You know what I can do." A sudden light sparked in her eyes. The suggestive tone of her voice was not lost on Dart. He rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, we both know what you can do." There was a tone of disinterest in his voice now.

"I don't think you do, Dart. You seem to have forgotten. Perhaps you'd like a. . . refresher."

A subtle giggle had made it's way into her voice.

Dart hit her again. This time not nearly as hard as before. He didn't draw blood with this strike. It was just enough to make her hold her tongue. She didn't even look hurt by it, just disappointed.

"Stay focused Nikki. Tell me, what are you planning to do?" Dart pressed, acting as if nothing had just happened.

Nikki looked away from him. "I'm going to do what i do best. I'm gonna lay a trap he won't know he's caught in until it's too late, and then," she turned her eyes back to Dart "my love, you and I can handle him." There wasn't a trace of doubt in the way she said it. Like it had already been successful in her mind.

"What kind of trap, I wonder." The amused look he gave her said he already knew.

"Considering how bad you've already messed this up, I hesitate to let you try this again. You sound almost too confident in your plan."

Nikki stood up straight and met his eyes.

"If you doubt me, let me prove myself."

She said it so matter of factly, Dart had no more objections. He nodded his head. "Very well, then."

Their conversation seeming to be over, Nikki rose and turned to leave, still feeling misery and disappointment bubbling up in her stomach. She hadn't gone more than a few paces before she heard Dart speak again behind her however.

"I thought you said you wanted to prove yourself. Why don't you. . . refresh my memory." A sly smile spread devilishly across his face.

Nikki felt the bubble in her erupt into fierce longing and need. The same grin appearing on her as she turned back to the large shepherd.

"Oh this time, I'm going to make sure you never forget again."

Afterwards, Dart did let her clean his wound. He even cleaned hers.


	3. Fatal Friends

Chapter Three

Fatal Friends

"Dis! Come and take a look at this!"

Despite how late the hour was, two black and gray dogs found themselves miles away from home. The one who had spoken and now nosed a set of large prints in the snow, was a large female with icey blue eyes. Her companion, the one she named Dis, was also a female who stood almost as tall as her.

Her appearance was only subtly different. She looked down at the set of prints with bright golden eyes instead of blue, and her coat was definitely more partial to the vivid gray. Her face wasn't as thin either.

"Blitz, can we please just go back?"

She turned her muzzle away from the prints in disinterest. They were too big to be what they were searching for.

"It's late, my paws are sore, and I'm tired."

They had covered miles through the snow and trees and endured relentless cold blasts of wind in almost complete darkness, except for the moonlight that bathed them, making their coats gleam.

Blitz turned her head back to Dis, a frustrated growl rumbling in her throat, her sharp white teeth showing.

"If the day ever comes when I'm the one who's missing, I hope you don't give up so quickly on finding me."

She turned to follow the direction the tracks marked. Dis may not have noticed, but her keen nose had found it. At last, she had found it. It was a very weak scent, but it was there all the same, maybe a day or so old.

Dis snorted at this, but continued to follow beside Blitz.

"Come on, give me a break! He's only been gone one day. Why do you even think he's missing?" Clearly, her concerns were not the same as Blitz's.

Blitz was beginning to grow tired of the other dogs complaints. She growled again in response, which quieted Dis for awhile. They kept going, following the path Blitz's nose led them on in almost complete silence except for the sound of running and dripping water that grew louder and louder the closer they got.

When they came upon the river, the scent turned and followed it up stream curiously. Blitz found this extremely odd. She had expected it to turn downstream which would have taken them to a more familiar place, one of their old haunts in fact. Why it went in the opposite direction was just another question bursting in her head.

It led them farther and farther out around two bends in the river until at one point, it abruptly disappeared.

She finally stood up and shook her head, the weariness she felt appearing on her face for a moment.

Dis clicked her tongue at Blitz and stood by her, but didn't say anything. Her desire to continue this fools search had faded away a long time ago. No matter how much her paws protested, she wouldn't abandon Blitz though. That didn't stop her from making it obvious how much she didn't care to continue this.

She bit Blitz's fur and tugged her back from the water. "Don't be thick, Blitz."

"He didn't come back last night. For someone like him, that's unusual." Blitz finally spoke, meeting her eyes just long enough to see the impatience in her friend's expression.

Dis turned away, rolling her eyes, and pressed her nose to the ground, feigning interest in finding the scent her nose had never picked up.

"Maybe. . . it's still only one day. Are you that worried about him?" Her tone sounded sarcastic, but it changed at her question.

Blitz didn't miss it. Her cheeks rose into a smirk, peering amusedly at Dis.

"Dis. . . is that _jealousy_ I'm hearing?"

Dis snorted scornfully. "Really now, Blitz. I just told you not to be thick. Then you go and ask something stupid like that."

She put a paw on Blitz's shoulder and pushed her away. "Maybe I need to rethink this whole friendship thing with you. I can't have it known I'm friends with a duffer like you."

Blitz was grateful for the distraction from the worry eating away at her. Her playful grin turned to a cheerful smile without her consent. She and Dis had known each other since they were pups and had gone through everything in life together. Even with how annoyed she was with her complaining, there wasn't another dog out there she'd rather have at her side.

"A duffer, am I? Well I never knew how much of a baby you are. Whining this whole time about your paws hurting." Blitz held up her own sore paws and put on an exaggerated pouting face. "You sound just like a pup!"

The words might have been insulting if it weren't for the giggle in her voice which Dis immediately joined in on.

"You got a lot of nerve calling me a pup, you know that right?" All anger in her voice completely discredited by her own laughter. She gave Blitz a very unbelievable glare and lowered her body ready to pounce.

Blitz spun around, swatting Dis in the face with her tail. She gave up the effort of looking mad at her friend, turning her thin body and flicking her paw a few times, daring her to try it.

Blitz may have had keener senses than Dis, but Dis had all the strength and speed Blitz did not. Blitz was barely ready for it when Dis lunged. Throwing her body at the dog in front of her. Blitz tried to dodge, but was too slow. Much too slow.

Dis's paws collided with her and they both fell back. Rolling, flipping, and sliding, they laughed all the way down until the both splashed right into the river.

The freezing water immediately soaked through their fur. Both of them immediately abandoned their fight and swam back to dry land. In their confusion, they ended up on the opposite bank of the river.

As soon as they had both shaken the water from their bodies, there was an immediate change in Blitz. She lowered her head back to the ground, her nose shuffling through all the smells she picked up until it honed in on the same scent again.

"Why would he cross the river?"

Dis was the one asking now. Her tone had changed as well. Not only could she smell it now, but they were both unsettled by the presence of another smell. This trail was much much more fresh. Barely more than a few hours they guessed, but the smell of blood was mingled with it horribly now.

"He's hurt!" Blitz cried, her playful mood completely forgotten.

Dis was the same way, despite how nonchalant she had been about the search only minutes ago.

"Blitz. . ." she said, pointing her paw to a small wet puddle of blood beside a fresh set of prints, exactly the size they were looking for. Quite a lot of her pride had been hurt badly, giving in to concern for the time.

The sight of it terrified Blitz and she set off at once. No longer having to follow the scent, but the trail of blood that had been left in it's wake. Drops of it had trailed over roots, branches, bushes, puddled up in small terrible scarlet pools under tree trunks, and even smeared across the grass.

Blitz followed it, increasingly more and more alarmed by it all.

Dis had actually noticed something this time that Blitz had overlooked. Right when they had picked up the scent, Dis had started to follow it upstream as well. What was more strange than the fact that it had crossed the river, was that it also went downstream.

In her mind she tried to work it all out, but when she saw the blood, a heavy sense of foreboding hit her in the chest and the questions gave in to concern.

Blitz found a clump of reddish brown fur in the bark of a tree, blood also surrounding it, like he had fallen against the tree for support. This was only one among many they found as they went.

The sense of an ill omen pressing over them more and more. What disturbed the two dogs most was the sheer amount of blood.

"He's hurt badly. . ." Blitz's voice cracked, stopping at another set of paw prints. These were smeared with red and pink now. It also looked like one of his paws was dragging.

They were still following the river, but the tracks swayed this way and that, once there was a large imprint in the snow of its body, a long red line spread across it.

"He stumbled and fell here." Dis said, looking up from the tracks. "He can't be far from here."

The track actually went on for much longer than either of them would have believed. They noticed that the tracks continued in a pattern that repeated itself. For several paces it moved in a straight line, each paw print clear, then they became harder to make out when his paws dragged through the snow, leaving it in mounds instead of tracks. They swayed back and forth, like he was fighting to not lose his balance. An effort he failed at each time.

Images flashed in Blitz's mind each time they saw where he fell. She could almost picture the dog struggling to stay on his paws and collapsing each time.

It startled her when she felt Dis bite her fur and tug. "Blitz. . ."

It stopped her, and right away she saw why Dis had. They had finally reached the end of the tracks.

Lying beside the river, she spotted a motionless lump. Against the blank white canvas of snow that surrounded them, his dark grey coat distinguished by the reddish-brown splotches was unmistakable. The fear that Blitz had been fighting off only by focusing on following the trail, rather than what was at the end of it, had clamped firmly down on her, rooting her to the spot.

Dis nudged her with her muzzle then. "Come on." Without waiting for Blitz to respond, she padded over to the fallen dog. Her eyes searched him for any sign of life, fully expecting the worst. She was deeply relieved when she got close enough to hear his breathing. He appeared to have lain down to drink from the river and dozed off. He looked oddly peaceful with his face rested between his paws. One paw was its usual gray, but the other was a much darker shade, wet with blood that went all the way up his arm and shoulder. It looked like the blood had been it's heaviest at his neck, but the terrible wound went from his jaw, just below his ears and went all the way up his face, stopping right behind his eye.

Dis cringed and looked away, horrified. Her stomach turned and for a second she thought she was going to be sick. She turned back to Blitz who still stood frozen in place,

"Blitz, he's alive!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

After Dart had dismissed Storm and Gabriel from their meeting, neither one of them hesitated to leave. Not even stopping to consider what Dart had in store for poor Nikki.

They didn't speak at all as they went, slowly treading the same miles back home. Storm lead the way and Gabriel followed behind. It seemed that Storm was not comfortable at all around Gabriel, he kept glancing back over his shoulder and then picking up his pace whenever he saw they were close. It would have amused Gabriel, but he was in a lot of pain. He was freezing, but half of his face still blazed horribly.

He kept his head down and stared at his paws,doing his best to hide his discomfort.

Once they reached the river, they split up. While they were still miles from home, they had been told not to be seen together by Dart. The river was the point where they met and where they were to separate. Storm looked very grateful for it. He ran off without even looking at Gabriel.

He stopped and stood there for a minute and watched Storm go. For such a slow pace, he was feeling very out of breath.

He allowed himself to lean against one of the tall trees looming over him. As tired as he felt, he almost could have fallen asleep right there. But just before the fatigue took him away, he forced himself to get moving again.

In next to no time, he had to stop and steady himself against another tree. He only lingered long enough to steady himself, unsure if he could fight off the exhaustion he felt a second time.

His thoughts disappeared into a blurred mess that made sense to no one but himself.

 _Why is everything getting so cold?_

It had been cold before, but he could hardly keep himself from shivering now.

 _I'm so tired. . . I can barely lift my paws anymore. . ._

His whole body began to feel like a heavy burden, his legs could hardly support the weight anymore. They shook like mad with each step.

 _I'm so thirsty. . . maybe I should stop just for a quick drink. . ._

It was a sorely tempting idea, but he didn't trust himself to get back up if he fell.

Just when he felt his legs would surely give out under him, everything went blurry. He blinked, and everything returned to focus, then blurred again.

The world suddenly turned on its side then. Before he could put together any kind of thought about this, he felt his body collide with the frozen ground.

He was barely aware of what was happening around him anymore. It hadn't even dawned on him just how much he had bled out. All he knew was the intensity of his pain had disappeared to barely more than a dull throb, and he didn't feel so cold anymore. His body though. . . never had it been so hard for him to move. He felt a funny disconnect from it actually. It made him laugh.

Laughing made him feel good, so he kept on.

A few thoughts came to his mind that made him laugh even more. He saw Dart slap Nikki, he saw two similar looking female dogs chasing each other, he saw the one with blue eyes and softer features tackle him and they went rolling and laughing, he saw himself knock a dog down into the dirt and snow, he saw Storm attacking the dog again and again while he held the dog down. He felt the satisfying _crack_ of the dog's ribs breaking one by one under his paws. He heard his and Storm's laughter and even faintly heard the dog's cries.

"Not Slyth." Was all he managed to say before finding to all so hilarious he started laughing even harder.

At some point during all this, he managed to push himself to his paws. As he walked and stumbled on, he kept breaking into fresh bouts of laughter. It was simply too funny to him, they hadn't just _killed_ a dog, they had killed the _wrong_ dog.

"What rotten luck!" The absurdity of two dogs looking so similar that something like that had happened cracked him up.

The only reason he stopped laughing at this was because his brain had just made a connection between those last few thoughts. The two female dogs he had just seen.

"They're my friends. . ."

A vision of either of them being attacked the way they had attacked that dog played out in his mind and it immediately silenced him.

"No" he growled after another minute of stumbling through the snow.

"I won't let it happen to them. . ."

He imagined seeing Dart on top of them, his paw held up to strike them both down. Anger bubbled up in Gabriel and he pounced on the large shepherd. In a haze of teeth and blood and claws, he closed his jaws around Darts throat and bit through it like it was nothing.

A surge of excitement went through his bones at the fantasy. Yes, if Dart or anyone else came near his friends, the bloodlust would be upon him and he would slay them all.

Something came up and hit him again then. He felt the snow around his body hugging him and filling his vision. It took him a few seconds to realize he had fallen again. This time, he knew he wouldn't be getting back up.

Something had carried him the last quarter mile or so, but now it felt like it was holding him firmly down to the ground.

 _Just like I did to him. . ._

As exhausted as he felt, he had never known thirst like he felt then. He couldn't have stood up again, but he had just enough strength left in him to pull his body a couple feet to the riverbed.

He lowered his head to the water, but before he took a drink, he saw something in the water that made him gasp.

A dog peered back up at him. Half of its face looked normal, deadly tired, but still normal. The other half its face was covered in dark, matted fur, one of its eyes was swollen shut, and it looked like someone had tried to claw away the flesh. Even as he watched, several more drops of blood dripped out of his fur and hit the water, distorting the dog's features.

He realized then that it was his reflection he was looking at. He stared, somewhere between horror and amazement.

'Thanks, Dart.' He grumbled, then pressed his nose to the water and began to lap up the cold water. It felt like ice going down and filling his empty belly, but he couldn't stop himself from drinking until his stomach bulged.

The water cleared his thoughts enough to know what falling asleep here would mean, but he also accepted that outcome on some level. He wasn't sure he liked the dog he was looking at in the water.

 _Ugly. . ._

He dipped one of his paws into the water. Intentionally distorting the reflection so he didn't have to see it anymore. He thought he saw something else when he did though, but it was a thought he barely registered. His head lowered to the ground and his eye dropped shut. Sleep was on him immediately.

The last thing he thought he saw in the waters wavy surface was a wolf. A big, grey, blood-stained wolf, looking at him with one half open light green eye.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Blitz approached slowly. Relieved to hear he was alive, but still afraid of what might happen. The closer she got to him, the worse he looked. His face was so mangled, it hardly looked like him anymore. He looked so terrible that despite the fact that he was alive now, she was truly uncertain how much longer he would be.

"He can't have been here long" Dis pointed out, stepping back from the dog to let Blitz get a closer look.

". . . Gabe?" She spoke so gently it sounded like she was afraid speaking too loudly would break him. She lowered her head and pressed her muzzle to his, withdrawing it almost immediately with a sharp breath. He felt as cold as ice.

"He's freezing!" She shivered as if only just noticing how cold she was herself. Like that brief touch had been enough to drain every bit of warmth out of her.

Worry and fear for their poor friend gripped them both by the heart. They looked at each other and could see that the same question was on both of their minds.

 _What happened to him?_

Looking at the grotesque wound, Dis remembered the prints from earlier she had thought nothing of. The one she knew were too big to belong to a dog. But what did they belong to then? Gabriel had clearly found out, and he was very unfortunate because of it.

Blitz pressed her muzzle to Gabriel's again.

"Gabe. . . wake up."

He didn't.

Her frown deepened and she tried again. "Gabe, you have to wake up."

Again, nothing.

On the verge of tears and desperate, she tried again, shaking him with a paw now.

"Gabe, please wake up!"

Still, nothing.

She might have cried then if it hadn't been for Dis. She padded up to her and put a paw on her shoulder.

"Blitz. . ."

It was enough for Blitz, she closed her eyes and dropped her head. Nothing would come from panicking, so she took a few breaths and tried to think.

"We can't leave him here, Dis. We gotta get him somewhere warm."

Dis peered around them, but there was nothing around them that would offer much for shelter. Just a lot of trees and snow.

"Well, have you got any ideas? I think we're too far from home to get him there, and there's nothing here. Crossing the river again isn't an option either. . ." Her voice trailed off when she looked back at Blitz.

Blitz was staring at her like she was some kind of spectacle. The kind you want to look away from, but cannot.

"What?"

"Nothing" Blitz said, shaking her head and looking back down at Gabriel.

She noticed then something peculiar about the dog that she hadn't ever seen before. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, the way the moonlight reflected off the glassy surface of the river and onto his face. There was something wild about the injured side of his face. Still Gabriel, but also not. Half of his face was the sweet dog she had known almost as long as Dis, the other looked like some kind of beast she would have been afraid of.

Guilt filled her at this thought. He was her friend, not some kind of cruel animal, and he needed her help. She couldn't waste anymore time thinking about what to do.

She knew what to do. Dis had just given her the idea. She was right about them being too far away to get him home, but there was another place. Somewhere they hadn't visited in ages.

"Dis, I need your help moving him. . . It's not far from here."

Blitz bent down and started to bite down on part of Gabriel's neck fur. The dog was much too heavy for her to pull on her own, but Dis was much stronger. With her help they should be able to move his body somewhere safe.

Before she could move him however, Gabriel stirred. He grunted and one of his paws twitched and his tail beat against the snow.

This startled them both. Despite his condition, he had looked rather calm, now it looked like a nightmare was upon him.

"Gabe?" Blitz pressed her muzzle to his again and put a paw on him.

For a second, she saw her friends tormented expression, hard lines of pain and anguish etched into his face. Then his body jerked and his eye popped open. Blitz could see every bit of the fear he felt then. It only lasted a second, then she began to feel it herself.

She didn't know why, but then it dawned on her in a flash of realization. She was looking at Gabriel, but it wasn't Gabriel looking at her. She shivered, feeling her blood turn as cold as the snow around them.

Gabriel stood up suddenly then. Staring Blitz down, not even seeing her or Dis behind her. His body was awake, but it was clear that his mind was somewhere else. Neither Blitz or Dis could tell what exactly he was seeing. He was glaring at Blitz, but it looked like he was looking at something much farther away.

His lips pulled back and bared his teeth viciously. His nose wrinkled into a snarl and without pausing, he pounced. Right onto Blitz, knocking her down and pressing his paws to her chest.

Blitz whimpered and struggled against him, trying to free herself and swallow the fear she felt. But it was no good. His weight was too much for her, it was suffocating her.

As soon as Gabriel landed on Blitz, Dis tackled Gabriel in a blur of black and grey. She knocked the big dog off Blitz and they both rolled.

When they stopped, Dis had landed on top of him. She jumped away from him immediately and ran back to Blitz.

"What do you think you're doing!" Dis growled, looking thoroughly shocked by him.

Whatever had come over Gabriel just then, it was fading fast from him. He had been able to stand up, but now it was a struggle for him to not collapse again. He blinked, and his eye changed completely.

It was still the same shade of light green, but there was no more fear or anger in it anymore. He looked confused and tired now. His eye darted back and forth between Blitz and Dis.

"What. . . what. . . where. . ." He stammered breathlessly.

Blitz climbed back up on her paws behind Dis, staring wide-eyed at Gabriel. Uncertainty gnawed at her as she watched him sway on the spot, legs trembling and his ears laying flat. She had just watched him change again and was now unsure who this dog really was. The Gabriel she knew would have never done what he just did. Yet, this _was_ Gabriel. She knew that, there was no mistaking it. But something really bad had happened to him and it looked like he was hurt in more ways than just physical.

"Gabe?" she asked, her voice shaking as much as his legs

Her voice made all the difference to Gabriel in his half-conscious state.

He felt lost. Things were too blurry for him to make out who these two were and his body was far too weak to put up any kind of fight. His mind could hardly connect anything around him to anything that made sense.

Quite literally lost in the dark, everything changed when he heard Blitz's voice.

The chaotic thoughts that threatened to tear apart his sanity all came to an abrupt stop. The image of his two friends was the only thing that came to mind.

Dis swam in and out of focus, but Blitz's soft features and stunning blue eyes stood out above everything else. A heat sparked in him under her gaze. He wanted to go to her.

"Blitz. . . I . . . I . . ."

He tried to speak, but the words completely failed him. Though his throat was too dry to speak more than a few small words, he felt no thirst to drink.

Some small measure of his strength had returned to him. It took a lot of effort, but he managed one step without collapsing, and then another.

The whole world around him stopped when Blitz approached him. Though he had memorized her face many times over, it never had the same glowing beauty in his mind. The weight of it took his breath away every time their eyes met.

Blitz and Dis were bursting with questions, even though he didn't look like he could have managed to answer even one of them. The questions could come later. Right now, they had to do something to get him out of the cold.

Dis followed Blitz's lead and went to him.

Their timing couldn't have been any better. As soon as they reached him, one of his legs bent under him and Dis put her shoulder under him just in time to catch him and stop his fall. When she did, she realized the truth in Blitz's words. He really was freezing. She was cold too, but even to her Gabriel felt dead with cold.

He was also dead weight on her until he put his own paw back under him. As strong as she was, Gabriel was a lot heavier than he looked. She grunted from the effort and helped push him back up.

"Blitz, I've got him. You just lead the way."

Gabriel made no complaints against it. This was the way it always went for their little trio. It was a sort of unspoken agreement between them that Blitz was their leader. She had an unnatural way of always knowing which way to go.

Blitz nodded her head in agreement. She was strong in many ways, but if Gabriel fell on her, there was little she could do to prevent it.

"Like I said, it's not far. . . Come on, let's go."

They set off. Gabriel slowed them, but they were moving much faster than if they had had to drag his body. Every time he stumbled Dis was there to catch him. It took a lot out of her each time she had to bear his weight, but she didn't let him fall once.

There was some mad focus in her to make it up to him for having so little concern for him earlier.

Each time appeared to take a lot out of Gabriel as well. What little strength he had was quickly dwindling away.

Blitz led them along the same path they had followed to Gabriel, going exactly where she suspected he had been headed to before whatever happened to him.

There wasn't much out here to interest a bunch of dogs. Just snow, trees, rocks, and more snow. A long time ago, when they were barely older than pups, they had discovered something though. It was a place they had frequented almost daily until they grew older.

They moved in silence under the dark sky lit brilliantly by starlight, listening to the sound of the river beside them until they reached the point where the river bent and turned, and they did not.

Their pace was slowed even more then by the steep hill they had to climb. Gabriel and Dis managed it, but only just.

Once they mounted the top of the hill, they looked completely spent. Dis was completely winded and Gabriel had nothing left.

She wasn't there just to catch him when he fell anymore. He now had to lean against her just to stay upright. Dis didn't say anything, but her legs were burning from the strain.

True to her word though, they had not had to go far. It didn't look like much from the outside, but Blitz and Dis had always been extremely inquisitive and that was how they found this in the first place.

Some time ago, for some reason or another, several of the trees had either been knocked down or simply fell on their own. About a dozen or so criss-crossed over and under each other, leaning this way and that. Their branches were a tangled mess knitting them together. Snow had covered most of it all like a perfectly white sheet.

Amongst all of them, two had fallen against the same tree that stubbornly refused to let go of its grip on the earth. It was a big tree, both tall and thick. Completely unlike the smaller ones it held up. Entirely hidden beneath the web of branches was the den most of their friendship had been forged in.

It looked just as Blitz remembered it. Not much had changed since the last time they had been here and she was relieved to see that it was still there. A familiar sense of wonder filled her.

Struggling with Gabriel's weight, Dis understood what it must be like for that tree now. It felt like he was getting heavier and heavier and she wasn't sure how much longer her legs could take it.

"Come on, just a little bit farther" she grunted both to herself and to the semi-conscious dog.

Blitz let Dis and Gabriel enter first before crawling in herself. It wasn't much, but it was just what they needed. Somewhere they could take shelter in, warm up, and dry off. Without the wind, it almost felt warm in here.

The space was much smaller than she remembered, but it was just enough for the three of them.

Gabriel pressed his body against the very back of the den, shivering from the cold that filled him. He felt Dis's body next to his and he shuddered when he felt Blitz press her body against him. Her touch made his skin tingle.

In spite of everything that had happened, he smiled when Blitz pressed her muzzle against his. He was asleep before he knew it.

Dis fell asleep right after him, completely exhausted from carrying Gabriel.

Blitz's mind was swimming with too many questions though. She looked over her injured friend and wondered.

What was he doing out here anyway? Why hadn't he come home last night? Who or what did that to him?

She thought back to the previous week when he had done the same thing. There had actually been several times where he disappeared and didn't show back up until the next morning.

Not wanting to seem nosy, she had never asked him about it.

 _Now though. . ._

Eventually her own fatigue got the best of her. She rested her head against Gabriel and drifted off.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, im having alot of fun weaving together this tale. I've got alot planned for this. This is still just the beginning.

Let me know what you think! Reading new reviews is one of the best parts of my day, truely.

I gotta get started on Chapter Four now. See you again in about two weeks!


	4. Progress Report

Chapter Four

Progress Report

It was now so very late, it was better described as being early. It wouldn't be much longer till dawn broke. The moon had grown ever larger and brighter in the sky until it stood directly over the silent and still town of Nome.

The starlight lit up the snow brilliantly, almost magical in its own kind of beauty. Even the wind seemed to be asleep.

Despite the hour, there was one other group moving under the cover of darkness tonight. Their paws pressed into the snow so gingerly, their steps barely made a sound.

These weren't dogs, these were fully grown wolves. Two of them, although they looked like they were waiting for more to join them.

"Storm is supposed to be here. . . He's late. The alpha will hear about this." growled one of them, pacing back and forth. His blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the moonlight cut through the branches of the trees looming above them and washed over him.

"Patience, Klaus." breathed the second wolf, sitting calmly and watching his restless companion. "He is not yet late. We're also missing another."

Klaus continued his pacing, hardly seeming to hear his words. His eyes scanned across the landscape around them, searching for an approaching figure, but all he saw was the small, dimly lit town of Nome off in the distance, surrounded by white hills, trees, and an oddly shaped lump not far from the coast. It was completely unlike the rest of the buildings that made up the town, but still obviously man-made.

After several long minutes, he grunted and turned back to the other wolf.

"It's been a week. What has Slyth been doing this whole time?"

The second wolf shook his head. "Is that not what we're meeting to discuss?"

Although he was barely older than Klaus, there was a much older and much more tired look in his eyes. His coat was a similar shade of brown as Klaus's, but his was streaked with thin lines of black and had a much more weathered look to it.

"Like I said, be patient. They'll be here." His voice did not carry the same serious tone as Klaus's. Instead, it was much more relaxed. He sounded absolutely certain about the matter.

"Very well then." Klaus sighed, sounding defeated and appeared to shrink in size as he stood there. He lowered his head and looked back at the second wolf.

"Remind me again why we're out here Nova."

Nova gave Klaus a quizzical look. "Surely you haven't forgotten what we're doing."

"Of course not" Klaus scoffed, pointing a paw at Nova "I want to hear it from you though."

Nova shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"Our job is simple, we're here to protect."

"Yes, I know that much. I'm asking why are we so far away from home?" a small portion of impatience had crept back into Klaus's voice.

"Why here?"

"Why are we here?" Nova sounded like it was a ridiculous question. "Because the alpha sent us here. This is where she wants us to be. That's why, Klaus."

"She told me where to go and that I was to help protect Slyth on the journey and that we would have to wait until the full moon to get the rest of our orders." Klaus stood back up then, looking completely annoyed and frustrated.

"Well, it's the full moon, and I've been bored to death on my own out here" He nodded his head in the direction of Nome. "It's also dangerous to linger around places like this."

Nova's eyes looked over Klaus and at the town without responding. For a moment it seemed he had nothing to say to the wolf.

"If you weren't given all the information, she had her reasons for withholding it. However, it falls onto Slyth to tell you the rest, not me."

Klaus snorted, but did not argue. "Fine, can you at least tell me why we were sent somewhere so dangerously close to hunters? You know what they do to our kind."

The last week had been relatively uneventful, but being so close to a place man called home had made it impossible for him to know a single moment of peace. He was amazed by some of the things he had seen when they first arrived, but now he was very much ready to head back home where he belonged and felt safe.

He had seen several groups of dogs running in lines, pulling something behind them that a human stood on, bellowing in a strange tongue at the dogs. What exactly the purpose of it was was lost on him, but he saw several of them coming and going daily.

Smoke rose from several of the buildings throughout the day, but it always faded away each night. It set off all kind of alarms in Klaus's mind that simply would not stop.

"When I was picked for this position I never thought it would involve a job like this."

Nova bowed his head at his words.

"Neither did I, Klaus. But it's what we were told to do, and we were all selected for this, so here we are." Nova sighed, laying his large body down onto his stomach.

"Do you not derive any sense of purpose from the task you've been given? We're out here to do something Klaus. This is something that will affect the future of our pack, and you're a part of that."

Nova's words swelled in strength as he spoke. Even if Klaus didn't understand the importance of what they were doing, it was obvious that Nova did.

Klaus was left rather uncertain of what to say to this. He remembered feeling that strong sense of pride when he had been chosen, but then he was told to come all the way out here and wait.

 _Wait for what?_

If he was selected to be a part of the alphas guard, then why was his first job to go protect someone else?

"It's just been frustrating, Nova. Slyth, Storm and I arrived a week ago. I thought something would have happened by now, but I haven't heard a word."

"Then allow me to bring this discussion back to my original point." Nova began with the air of someone who was losing interest in an argument.

"Patience, Klaus. Slyth will be able to tell you more than me, once we are all here."

"Yes, we are here, but Slyth and the others appear to have more important things to do." Klaus growled, sinking his claws deep into the ground, like he was about to fight.

Before Nova could open his mouth to respond, another shape materialized out of the darkness. It stood behind Klaus, perfectly still until it spoke and made its presence known to the other two wolves.

"Now, that's not a very nice thing to say."

The suddenness of it's arrival startled Klaus enough to make him jump. Instinctively, he bared his teeth. Then his eyes fell on the amused looking large white shepherd standing behind him.

"Honestly, Klaus. Did no one ever tell you? It's rude to talk about someone behind their back." He sounded far too cold and cruel to be laughing, but he chuckled every word.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 _Things are going just about as bad as they possibly can go. It could have all been so simple. . . It should have been. . . Now things are getting complicated. What was Gabriel thinking back there anyway? The lame-brain should have known he would get in trouble for interrupting Dart, and what's he need Nikki for?_

These thoughts went through Storms mind at lightning fast speed while he and Gabriel paced back to Nome. He was in a state of utter shock after everything that had just happened.

He made sure to keep some distance between him and Gabriel as they went. His presence had become just as uncomfortable as that meeting had been.

Every time he glanced over his shoulder and looked at Gabriel, he felt rather sickened by the way he appeared to have two faces. Dart had definitely made sure he wouldn't repeat that mistake again. The way he had hurt Gabriel was something Storm could hardly bare to look at.

 _Dart is a fool. . . Gabriel is leaving behind a trail anyone could follow._

Indeed, there was a steady flow of blood oozing out of the wound. As alarming as Storm found it, Gabriel seemed oblivious to it. Every other step was another bloody mess of a paw print in the snow, and it dripped out of his fur like he was soaked in it.

 _I think Dart just killed him. . ._

Unwilling to be around for when that happened, It came as a huge relief for him when he spied the river up ahead. He broke away from the bloody dog and went his own way without another look back. Altogether, he was pretty certain that he would never see him again.

 _No matter, his part in this is done anyway._

As Storm made his way back to Nome, he reflected again on just how horribly wrong things were going. This wasn't meant to be a complicated plan. All they were supposed to do was make sure that Slyth wasn't around by time the full moon rose and the rest would come easy. Unfortunately, that was tonight. His eyes cast upwards at the large glowing orb above him.

It's light was fading as the sun prepared to rise and eliminate the shadows he now traveled under.

Despite what Dart had said, it was no surprise that he had died. After all, It was he and Gabriel who had done it. As broken and twisted as he was after they were finished with him, how could he have not? He suspected it was Gabriel who had inflicted the fatal blow that did it.

All of the fight had gone out of the dog by that point. Gabriel had jumped on top of him and as his body landed, Storm had actually been able to hear something _inside_ his body break.

For someone who wasn't supposed to kill, Gabriel seemed almost a little too willing.

All things considered, only one was supposed to die. Slyth still being alive changed everything. How was it possible that they had mistakenly killed the wrong dog? That had to be some kind of bad joke.

"How could I have missed that?" he grumbled as he jogged his way closer and closer to Nome.

He was angry at himself for not noticing, angry at Gabriel for being so stupid, angry at Nikki for all of this.

That was the only part of this that made sense. Nikki was the one who was responsible. He and Gabriel had done their part, Nikki was the one who was supposed to lure Slyth to the ambush.

If that dog wasn't Slyth, then it was because Nikki had baited the wrong dog. Part of him wondered if that had been on purpose, but didn't understand what she could have possibly gained from it and also, how incredibly unlikely it was that she found another dog that looked just like Slyth.

Of course, it wasn't a mistake at all that the dog died. It would have been dangerous to let him live, more so for him and Dart than Gabriel and Nikki. Although, they were a part of it now.

They hadn't exactly killed him, but it might have been kinder if they had. However long he had survived after the attack surely had been agonizing.

It infuriated him more than he could say now that he knew that that wasn't Slyth. This could have been so simple, but now this night would play out much differently.

 _Is it all over now? Do we still have time to rectify this?_

That depended greatly on how Slyth was managing his own task. Storm sincerely hoped that he was failing as bad as they were. They may have failed step one of this plan, but the real failure would come the moment that Slyth found her. Precisely the very thing they were here to stop.

 _Well, I'll know soon enough. . ._

As much as he wanted it to be, the night was not over for him yet. There was one more thing he had to do before he could get any rest.

The meeting with Dart, Nikki, and Gabriel was only the first gathering he had to attend. If everything had worked out, they were supposed to hear from Dart what their next move would be. Since that wasn't the case, he wasn't sure what to expect next.

He was running out of time, so he picked up his pace and ran faster, suddenly annoyed by how far away Dart had made them come.

Storm didn't stop until Nome appeared on the horizon. By then he was breathing in long ragged gasps which rose in small clouds from his mouth in the chilly air, but was relieved to see he had made it in time.

He scanned the trees until he spotted the two wolves he was looking for. They were speaking in low voices that he had to strain his ears to hear.

"Storm is supposed to be here. . . He's late. The alpha will hear about this."

At Klaus's words, a low rumble went up Storms throat and his nose wrinkled into an angry snarl. Before he could even move, he heard Dart's familiar cold voice speak behind him.

"Easy now, Storm."

It would have surprised him if he hadn't known Dart would be close behind him. Instead he barely reacted, hardly glancing at Dart. He dropped his snarl and lifted his muzzle.

"Great show back there Storm! Really good stuff, truly. I never knew you were such a good actor." Dart patted Storm on the back and laughed.

"You almost even had me convinced!"

Storm wasn't sure how to react anymore. His mouth opened and shut several times without making a sound until he managed to find his voice.

"It isn't hard to fake shock when you really are. What're we going to do about Slyth?" Storm asked, completely brushing off Darts comments.

Dart changed his tone as abruptly as his laughter died. His features shifted to the polar opposite of his amused expression. Scowling, he shook his head at Storm's question.

"Consider the matter out of your paws."

Storm's eyes widened with surprise. "But. . ." He started to say, but Dart put a paw to his mouth and silenced him.

"The goal was to make sure that Slyth wasn't around anymore by tonight. Since you failed, we're left in a difficult situation. Now, we've gotta improvise."

Storm looked back at the large white shepherd warily. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means that the plan as we knew it is over." Dart snapped, sounding rather final about the whole situation.

"So that's it then?" Storm asked, a sense of unease falling heavily on his shoulders. "It's all over?"

"Oh, don't worry, this isn't over." Dart laughed, completely shifting moods again. "Not by a long shot. I've got a different job for you."

He didn't elaborate at once just what this other job was, but he did turn away from Storm and spoke in a voice so dead of emotion, the seriousness of his words could not be mistaken.

"Make no mistake, Storm. If you fail me again, you _will_ regret it. . ."

With nothing left to be said, they set off and joined the other two wolves.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

A week in Nome had proven to be more interesting than Slyth had ever anticipated. As much as the day to day activities fascinated him, everyone else appeared to think It was all perfectly normal, which was even more absurd to him.

By day, the town was busy with life as the occupants went about their daily lives. Slyth didn't understand what any of them were doing, but his stomach growled deeply every time he caught the smell of food that wafted out of the buildings.

As he explored around, he became all too aware of how many dogs lived here. There were all kinds of them in just as many shapes and sizes. At first, it had been interesting to watch them all, but it didn't take Slyth long to realize the problem that this presented. Out of all the dogs here, he needed to find just one in particular.

The days rolled by one after another and his efforts to find her went in vain. So far, It had turned out to be quite a fruitless endeavor to narrow his search down to just one dog.

He had made it a point to stay out of sight as much as he could, especially after he had become aware of his resemblance to the dog the town mourned. After a couple of awkward conversations, he decided that he did not like the attention and stuck to the shadows.

Briefly, he remembered someone else who had reminded him again and again how much he looked like someone she used to know. It used to mean nothing to him. Now, however . . .

Slyth had only spoken to a couple of dogs since he had arrived, pretending to be a new dog in town had been how he found out about the boiler room.

That had turned out to be a great place to easily get information without asking a lot of suspicious questions. All he had had to do was listen to the conversations around him and keep his ears peeled for a certain name. Just some mention of her would be enough to get him on the right trail to find her.

He heard a lot of names during his time there, but not one mention of the female he was searching for. As frustrating as that was, he did hear other things that caught his interest. That was where he learned about what happened to Kodi, a name he was only aware of because dogs kept calling him that.

Whenever Kodi came up, the conversation had a way of always moving on to Dusty next. Talk about Dusty always led to Kodi, and talk about Kodi always led to Dusty in a repetitive circle. He overheard a couple other things in between these conversations, but none of it was interesting enough to hold his attention very long. Not until the name Balto reached his ears. Every time he heard it, it jogged something in his memory, but he couldn't quite remember what.

 _I've heard that name before. . . but where?_

He kept listening for something to remind him more, but all he heard was that Balto was Kodi's father and that didn't do anything for his memory.

After his very public encounter with Dusty, he didn't think the place would be the same for him. Now he suspected his name would be one discussed fervently, so he decided to avoid the place the rest of the day which passed by completely uneventfully.

As the day wore on, he passed the time by wandering around aimlessly, watching the town steadily die down as everyone, dog and man alike, retreated back inside their homes.

When darkness had fallen, it was much easier for him to explore the town without being seen. Without knowing where he was going, he padded up and down streets and alleys, turning left here and right there in no particular order or hurry.

Eventually he found himself standing over something he knew to be a grave. It was small, but unmistakable and as he looked down at it, his mind recalled the dog he had connected briefly with in the boiler room.

Some of the pain from his experience with Dusty earlier had lingered with him. He felt truly sorry for her loss, but there was nothing he could do for her. It was hugely surprising to him that she had opened herself to him the way she had. He knew it was only because he resembled her lost one, but even that seemed surprising to him.

It gave him comfort that he had been able to do something for her, however small.

Still though, you don't hear someone cry like that and not feel something from it. Had he ever felt such sorrow? If the opportunity came again, he wanted to check up on her.

He debated for a moment if that was appropriate. Would seeing him again just awaken her sadness again that Kodi was gone? Maybe he was just a bad reminder of something she wanted to let go and if he kept showing up, would she be able to?

He struggled to remember if there had ever been someone he felt that strongly for.

Somewhere in her cries, he had felt something pass between them and he could only guess at what it had been. It had felt brilliant in it's strength, but terrible in the weight of the pain it carried. Maybe in that moment between them, Dusty had shared some of the bond she felt with Kodi with him and Slyth was certain he'd never experienced a connection with someone like that.

He shuffled slightly and wondered, looking down at the small stone which marked Kodi's grave. Something he couldn't explain had compelled him to come visit.

It might have looked extremely bizarre to anyone else if they saw him. Like some part of Kodi was still there, standing by his own grave and looking saddened by the sight of it. As if he were struggling to accept what had happened to him.

Slyth had nothing to say, after all what was there to say? He watched as the snow fell gently down on top of the stone where it settled into a steadily growing pile. The snow had built up far enough that it threatened to cover up the stone and erase his memory from the world.

He leaned down and brushed the snow away with his muzzle; the only sign of respect he could show for the dead, then padded away, feeling no less heavy than he had before.

Tonight was the seventh night since he had arrived with Klaus and Storm, but it was not like the others. Tonight was actually an important one, it was the night the others were supposed to arrive. While Slyth was unsure exactly who else had been sent, he knew it would be another small party, and they would also be part of the Alphas Guard.

So, washing his face of any and all emotions, Slyth steeled himself for their arrival.

They were going to want an update on the plan and how he was progressing. He felt slightly hurt that he had nothing to say to defend himself on this matter. It was his job, and he hadn't managed to do it.

Fortunately, he had time to think over everything and get his head straight while he waited. He may as well have had an entire week to think things over for the good it did him though.

He continued to roam around unseen and unheard until the time had come to leave and meet with the others. He knew Storm and Klaus would be waiting on him by now, but he wondered who else would be there.

It wasn't a long walk out of town, however he had made sure to pick somewhere that was at a safe distance from the town to avoid any unwanted attention.

As he approached, he could make out four shapes that he knew to be the group waiting for him. Once he got close enough, he could make out voices. At first he couldn't make out what they were saying, but when he was able to, his ears identified the voice as Klaus speaking. Slyth only just caught the last bit of his words.

". . .Slyth and the others appear to have more important things to do."

At first, he wanted to laugh when he heard it, but then he made out a large white shepherd next to Klaus. His mind raced, trying to put a name to the large brute.

"Dart, what a pleasure to see you here." Slyth spoke when he reached them, sounding almost sarcastic. Then he spotted the other wolf laying on his stomach next to Klaus.

"Nova, I can't say I'm surprised to see you." He spoke in a much more genuine tone than he had to Dart.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Slyth, good of you to finally join us!" Klaus growled, looking half resentful and half sheepish.

Dart's abrupt appearance had unnerved him, but Nova looked as though he had expected all of this. As Slyth made his presence known, he rose to his paws and stood shoulder to shoulder with Klaus, Storm, and Dart.

"Yes, we were beginning to worry something might have happened to you." He said, completely ignoring the sarcastic tone in Klaus's voice.

Slyth looked over each one of them closely, then grinned at him and Klaus "Worried about me? Now, I'm touched. It's good to see everyone here is well too."

They all met his gaze when he looked at them except for Dart.

"Rough journey, Dart?" He asked, lifting a paw and pointing it at his injured shoulder. The pink and red stain stood out clearly against his white coat. It was no longer bleeding, but it was a plainly fresh wound.

Dart snorted scornfully "Please, this is nothing."

Slyth nodded his head, but was unconvinced. So he looked to Nova for a better answer. "Was it nothing, Nova?"

Nova looked curiously at Dart and for a brief moment, their eyes met. He paused for half a heartbeat before he spoke.

"Yes, it was long, but the way was easy."

Slyth wasn't satisfied with the answer, but decided to drop it and move on. They didn't have much time to brood on every small detail.

"Okay, that's good to hear. How about we move on then?"

Klaus immediately stepped forward, clearly ready to finally get some answers.

"So tell us, what have you found out?"

Together, all four of them looked at Slyth expectantly.

Slyth shifted slightly and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to say, I haven't found out much. Nothing that concerns us anyway. There was an attack on a dog named Kodi. He didn't survive, so the town is on edge. They suspect wolves did it, so Klaus and Nova, it's important that you two stay here. Dart, Storm, and I at least have enough dog in us to go unnoticed."

Klaus and Nova made no objection, but Slyth did notice that now Storm wouldn't meet his eyes.

"I can't be sure, but I think he was attacked the night we arrived. I spoke briefly with the dogs mate earlier today."

"How is this related to us?" Dart asked, barely making an effort to stifle a yawn.

Slyth shook his head and had to fight back one of his own despite himself. "Nothing at all Dart. Apparently I look a lot like him, so it's made moving around complicated. They don't think I'm a wolf, they think I'm a dead dog."

Storm shifted uncomfortably, his paws kneading in the snow, but otherwise he sat completely still and silent.

"So maybe you want to tell us how your search is going." Nova said and nodded his head at Klaus.

"Not everyone here is fully aware of what we're doing."

There was a small snort from Dart at his words.

Slyth was beginning to feel annoyed by his arrogance so he fixed his eyes on Dart instead of Nova. "Fine, tell me what you do know and I'll fill in the rest. As long as Dart is okay with that, of course."

Dart opened his mouth to say something, but Nova cut him off before he could speak.

"I'm sure Dart would like to know just as much as the rest of us, so go ahead and tell us what you know Klaus."

Klaus looked unsure of himself for a moment, looking between Slyth and Dart. He blinked, and it passed.

"I wasn't told much. Just that Storm and I were to go with Slyth and wait for the others to arrive at the full moon."

He looked up at the large white orb in the sky above them.

"Well, the others have arrived, and it's the full moon. So spit it out Slyth." His impatient tone made its way back into his voice as he spoke.

"Okay, the purpose of this meeting is essentially just a progress report." Slyth began, tearing his eyes from Dart to look at Klaus.

"Regrettably, I haven't got much to report. Like Nova said, we are here to find someone. I was given the task of finding her, and your job is to make sure we get her home safely."

Slyth's words only partially sated Klaus, evidently it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through for one dog. What's so special about her?"

"Excellent question, I'm glad you asked." Slyth said then paused to look at Dart.

"Wanna take it from here, buddy?"

Darts eyes flashed but he held back his annoyance by focusing on Klaus instead of Slyth and spoke through gritted teeth.

"She's the alpha's daughter."

"Exactly." Slyth said plainly, watching recognition dawn on Klaus's features.

"We have been given an important job. One that will directly affect the future of our pack."

He allowed a few moments of silence to carry the significance of his words.

In those few brief seconds, the first rays of morning broke the horizon and stroked the top of the trees around them.

"Well, that's that then." Storm finally spoke up, breaking the pregnant pause between them.

"That's that." Slyth repeated.

"Is there any more questions before we go our separate ways?"

At first it seemed that none of them did, then Nova spoke.

"Just find her, Slyth. Like you said, it's dangerous for us out here. We're counting on you to find her so we can go home."

Slyth nodded his head at Nova. "Trust me, it's just like what the alpha said, there's no one better for the job."

As he said it, he heard her voice in his mind speak.

 _'Bring her home to me, Slyth and remember my eyes. She has them too.'_

"Are we done here?" Dart grunted now sounding just as impatient and annoyed as Klaus had.

"Yes, we're done here." Slyth announced very finally.

As they all started to walk away, he raised his voice enough for them all to hear one last thing he had to say.

"Strength to your paws. Remember, you are wolves, but what kind of wolf are you?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

If you can believe it, I still haven't finished introducing all the characters yet.

It was good to finally get back to Slyth though. I mean, it's his story, where the bloody hell has he been?

The amount of notes I've scribbled down for this story. . . good grief.

It took me longer than I wanted to write this chapter because of a lot of different factors.

Mainly due to each chapter growing more complicated, this one was definitely the hardest one yet, but I'm glad I finally finished it and I hope you enjoy it!


	5. Why?

Chapter Five

Why?

"Watch out! Incoming!"

The sudden loud cry only just barely reached Gabriel's ears. Though he heard the warning, he never saw it coming. All he saw was a blur of gray and black that landed in a very large puddle of mud and water, splattering filth all over him. It was cold; very very cold and wet.

"Watch it!" he sputtered, jumping away abruptly and looking completely perplexed.

For a moment he couldn't see much through the mud, but he blinked and shook his head until he could. A very familiar laugh filled his ears.

"Gabe, you were doing it again."

It was Dis. As much as she and Blitz looked alike, the differences were never lost on Gabriel.

Annoyed, he bared his teeth and growled.

"Doing what again? And don't call me Gabe, you know it's Gabriel."

Dis didn't say anything, she just kept laughing. Though she was laughing at her mud covered friend, she was covered in it herself, but she looked absolutely delighted by it. Completely unlike Gabriel who looked like someone who had just been very rudely awoken from a very good dream.

The mud matted his fur in clumps that clung to him stubbornly despite his efforts to shake it off.

"Don't try that on me, we both know you're smarter than that!" Dis said, still laughing. She then dove at him far too quickly for Gabriel to avoid.

Her body collided with his, knocking him off balance and they both fell splashing into the mud and water. Although Dis was thinly built, she hid very powerful muscles under her coat that made her surprisingly stronger than she looked.

"Dis!" Gabriel grumbled as she landed on top of him.

"Get off!" He tried to push her off, but he was winded and couldn't find his strength to manage it.

Dis put her paws on Gabriel's chest, smearing more mud into his fur, and held him down.

"You had that ridiculous look on your face again, loverboy." She giggled, pressing his face close to his.

Gabriel's only response was to press his own mud covered paws to her neck and growl threateningly.

It might have seemed like a sinister reaction, but Dis had known the dog far to long to ever be fooled by one of his bluffs.

Although he pretended to be pinned by her, she could feel his muscles working under her paws and knew If he had really wanted to, he could have easily managed to throw her off.

"Aww, don't be such a bad sport Gabe" She teased, still giggling.

Gabriel tried to keep his face still, but he couldn't fight back the grin that stretched across his face when their eyes met.

Sudden inspiration struck him and he summoned his strength to put his legs under her and knock her off balance.

Gabriel and her wrestled with each other then. It was a furious but brief thing that left them both quite covered in mud from nose to tail.

They snarled and bit each other in a manner that would have looked extremely violent if it weren't for their laughter.

Blitz, who had been busy inspecting something inquisitively, was oblivious to their romping at first. She had her nose pressed to the ground sniffing around for something so intently that it barely dawned on her what she was hearing until their laughter finally reached her ears.

They stuck up on top of her head at the sounds from her friends coming from nearby behind her.

Ever the curious canine, she couldn't resist the urge to find out what they were laughing so much at when moments ago it had been peacefully quiet.

She pulled her attention away from her current task and spun around to look, but it took a moment for it to dawn on her just what she was seeing.

Both of them were soaked and covered with mud and looked utterly ridiculous.

She had to bite her lip to fight back the chuckle that fought to escape her as she approached.

After only a few moments, Gabriel successfully managed to pin Dis below him in a very similar fashion she had had him.

"Ha!" He panted, sounding triumphant and smiling very smugly but feeling very satisfied.

"Alright, alright." Dis said through harsh broken breaths. "You got me."

She squirmed under him, fighting to free herself, but Gabriel held her firmly in place.

"What's my name again?" He breathed.

Dis rolled her eyes but she answered all the same in the same defeated tone "Fine, it's Gabriel. Can I get up now?"

Gabriel leaned in close to her then, but before he could say or do anything else, Blitz interrupted him.

"Alright now, break it up. I think you won, Gabe."

It startled Gabriel enough that he almost lost his footing in the slick mud, but he managed to regain his composure without making a fool of himself.

"Hear that, Dis" He chuckled "I won."

He stepped over Dis and turned to face Blitz, ignoring Dis's mumbled words.

Blitz barely looked at him before she succumbed to laughter so strong that it sent her to the ground.

Gabriel could only stand there and watch her roll around, feeling rather ridiculous. He looked down at himself and realized just how absurd he must look right now.

He glanced back at Dis, who had pulled herself from the mud and was now attempting to shake it off herself. It was quite an amusing sight actually and he found himself unable to restrain his own laughter.

When Blitz regained her composure, she had tears in her eyes, and looked jubilated.

"That's a good look for you Gabe." She choked, fighting off another fit of laughter and pointing her paw at his half soaked, half muddy fur.

Gabriel flashed a toothy smile at Blitz then nodded his head towards the other muddy dog.

"All thanks to Dis."

"Hay!" Dis growled, bounding over to them and surveying them both with a daring look.

"How about another go? Come on, you're up next Blitz!"

Blitz looked bemused by the suggestion and shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not interested in getting cold, wet, and filthy. You two can knock yourselves out."

"Or" Dis started, grinning and catching Gabriel's eyes long enough to see the same thoughts going through his head.

"Or what?" Blitz asked, sounding sarcastic but looking concerned all the same. She even took a few steps back when she saw them look at each other.

"Or, we could tackle you in" Gabriel finished, wearing the same grin as Dis.

"Fat chance!" Blitz chuckled nervously, backing up even farther from them. She was about to run from them, but Dis had already made her move and leaped at her.

Blitz let out a shriek as her muddy friend flew at her but somehow she managed to roll out of the way just in time. She didn't waste any time running then, yelling at them for being immature and stupid as she ran.

Gabriel and Dis were right behind her though. The chase had began, them laughing while Blitz cried out for them to stop.

It went on like this for several minutes until they were all completely exhausted and too out of breath to run any longer.

"You know, you guys suck. You really really suck." Blitz spoke, her chest rising and falling rapidly, sucking air between each word.

"That's why you love us." Dis said when she had the breath to do so. She would have been laughing if it weren't for the cramps she felt in her legs and sides.

Gabriel was experiencing the same discomforts and couldn't find his voice to say anything. His mouth opened and closed like he was trying to speak but no words came out.

As they looked at each other, feeling the strong bond between them that had united them, they all knew what Dis had said was true. Blitz did love them, and they her. It was one of those few moments in their lives that they really felt how close they had become and that they really believed they were going to be ok as long as they stuck together.

"I have an idea." Gabriel spoke up when the stitches in his sides no longer made speech painful.

"Let's make a promise. To each other, right here, right now."

Blitz and Dis looked at each other, utterly perplexed but they turned back to Gabriel to hear him out.

"What kind of promise?" Dis asked.

Gabriel met eyes with them both before speaking again. "A kind of pact. That we'll always be there for one another, to protect each other come whatever may."

Blitz and Dis didn't respond right away, but it wasn't as though they were hesitating, they were allowing the full gravity of the promise to sink in.

"Why?" Dis asked "We don't need to promise each other that. It goes without saying that we'd do that."

Gabriel looked as though he had expected this kind of reproach from Dis.

"There's power in promises Dis. If it goes without saying, then let's say it and make it real."

Neither Blitz of Dis had anything else to say about it, they both appeared rather impressed by what Gabriel had said.

"Okay." Blitz said after several moments of silence. She stood up as tall as she could and nodded her head, declaring in a fiercely resolute voice "I promise to you Gabriel and to you Dis, that nothing will ever tear us apart. "

Emboldened by her words, Gabriel stepped up into the same pose as Blitz and spoke with the same resolve in his voice "I promise to you Blitz, and to you Dis, I'll never let anything or anyone hurt you."

Dis wore the kind of grimace that looked like she found this whole thing to be on the side of absurdity, but she followed suite and stood tall with them "and I promise to you Blitz, and to you Gabriel, we're in this together for life."

Something happened next that was not easily described, it was an emotionally intense moment for all three of them. As strong as their friendship felt only moments ago, it was almost frightening how much more substantial the bond felt.

They all felt it blaze up inside them, inside their chests, inside their very hearts. In that moment, It became their very purpose and goal in life.

The three dogs embraced each other then, feeling completely at peace with the world and certain that nothing could touch them now.

Suddenly, there was an enormous crack of thunder that made their ears ring. The day had been cloudy, but not one of them had expected a storm. Certainly not the kind of storm that descended down on them then.

The sky opened up and rain began to fall so fiercely and heavily, within seconds it was coming down in sheets over them.

"Bath time." Dis laughed, even though the other two looked completely startled by the sudden downpour.

"Well, that's just good timing, isn't it?" Gabriel laughed once he got over his initial shock.

As Dis looked back at Gabriel, she watched how one side of his face was washed clean of the mud, but oddly the other side stayed just as muddy.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get a word out, they died in her throat and turned into a scream.

Before her eyes, she watched Gabriel turn his head to one side and saw a trickle of blood drip down his neck that steadily grew into a tide of blood falling in thick crimson sheets.

She couldn't understand what was happening. Nothing appeared to have attacked him, but under her gaze, a deep gash appeared on him and cut its way all the way across his face.

She wanted to cry out to make it stop, but Gabriel appeared to be oblivious to what was happening to him. Concern grew in his eyes before one of them swelled shut.

She looked around desperately for Blitz, but realized horribly that she was nowhere in sight.

"Dis, what's wrong?" He asked, sounding afraid, but then his body dropped like a rock into the blood soaked ground.

Another crack of thunder exploded over her just as his body stopped moving.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Dis awoke abruptly, feeling her scream die in her throat and her heart banging frantically in her chest. It took her a few moments to figure out what had just happened to her. She looked around at her strangely familiar surroundings without knowing exactly where she was.

The panic and fear from her nightmare still gripped her, but she could only remember pieces and fragments of it and wasn't entirely sure anymore why she felt so afraid.

As her heaving breath steadily calmed, her thoughts became less sporadic and the tightness in her chest lifted.

 _What was that dream about?_

She screwed up her face in concentration, trying to remember anything she could about it. A small flicker of longing came to her, like recalling a fond memory.

 _Something had changed though. . . was it a dream? Or was it a memory?_

Try as she might to remember, the details of the dream were simply gone. All she knew was she had felt very happy and then suddenly very afraid.

Her thoughts were interrupted then by movement beside her. A leg kicked her weakly in the side, and for the second time that morning, she jumped.

Gasping, she opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping dog beside her.

The dark grey dog looked just as bad as he had the night before and a small groan escaped her as the events of the previous night came back to her.

He at least no longer felt so cold, and his shivering had stopped. His body, pressed between hers and Blitz's, curved slightly towards Blitz who was still asleep against him. They both looked to be having far more pleasant dreams than she had.

Looking at them, It was easy to think that nothing was wrong, but there were few things as far from the the truth as that was.

Gabriel was hurt badly, and even if it no longer appeared to be life threatening, he had lost a lot of blood and it was unlikely he would be up to much for a couple days at least.

Dis reflected for a moment on the brilliance of Blitz's idea to bring him here once it had dawned on her exactly where they were and why they were there. Whatever had happened to Gabriel, he was safe now. They always were when they were together, that's the way it had always been.

As the night replayed itself in Dis's mind, her sense of guilt began to weigh down on her again. She frowned at her injured friend, feeling like she was the worst kind of friend.

The only reason he still lived was only because of Blitz. She was the one who dragged Dis out of Nome to go searching for him.

 _All I did was complain, I would have let Gabriel die out there just because I was cold and tired. . ._

Despite the strong sense of belonging she felt when they were together, she now felt like she shouldn't be there.

This life long bond they shared. . . had she broken it? The very thought instilled fear in her again.

Though she had never been claustrophobic, the walls began to close in around her and she couldn't bear to lay there any longer. The second she dug her claws into the dirt and pulled her body forward, everyone of her muscles screamed in protest.

It almost hurt bad enough to make her cry out, but she clenched her jaw and fought through the pain until she made it out into the open.

Her body shuddered under the warm sunlight that fell on her when she pushed her way through the branches that concealed them.

Immediately, the sense of entrapment dissipated from her as fresh air filled her lungs. It helped to calm her thoughts, but it did nothing to make her feel any less guilty about the previous night.

Though the muscles in her limbs were a medley of throbs and aches, she felt like it was deserved. She just couldn't come to terms with the fact that, had it been Blitz following her instead of the other way around, Dis would have allowed Gabriel to die. Whether or not she could have ever known that didn't matter to her.

She just kept seeing herself trying to convince Blitz that she was being stupid and complaining about her paws hurting, meanwhile Gabriel was all alone, freezing and bleeding.

Brooding and sitting there was something she could stand only so much of. Only minutes passed before she had to do something about the emotions battling within her. Part of her couldn't allow herself to abandon her sleeping friends, but all logic told her they were as safe as they could possibly be. Another part of her was remembering something she had all but forgotten about.

 _Gabriel's trail. . . It had went in two different directions, it had even crossed the river! If there was a reason to do something like that, it was to hide something. . . but what?_

Dis wanted to know what Gabriel felt the need to hide from them, but more than that, she wanted to know what had hurt him. Were the two things possibly one and the same?

Once she had asked herself the question, she had to know. At the time, she had had no idea what was going on, but now that she thought back on it all, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly could Gabriel have been up to that he felt the need to try and hide from them. Could he really have believed it was something they would have rejected him for?

Life without Gabriel was as foreign and scary as life without Blitz; she couldn't imagine it.

Thoughts of her friends filled her mind as her paws retraced their steps from the previous night. Curiosity had her well within its grip, and even if there was danger she was walking towards, she had to know what had happened.

Dis did her best to not look at the trail of blood Gabriel had left, but it was a difficult thing to do with how much of it there was. Seeing it again only made it all feel much more real and only enforced her feelings that every ache and hurt in her legs was well deserved pain. This was nothing, she could take it, even if it did slow her down and make her feel much weaker.

Despite her paws protests, she didn't stop walking until she had reached the river they had crossed and found Gabriel beside. By then, her thirst made her pause long enough for a few gulps of icy cold water.

By then, she was a dog possessed by purpose and didn't linger longer than she had to. If it weren't for her stiff and weak paws, she would have been running as fast as she could.

 _He attacked Blitz last night. . ._

The thought popped into her head rather suddenly, like it was something she had only just remembered. It came back to her as vivid as her dreams and she could see it in her mind's eye as lucid as if she were seeing it happen again before her eyes.

The only way she could describe the way Gabriel had looked in that moment was that he simply was not Gabriel.

With every bit of speed she was capable of, she had tackled him off Blitz, but there had been a moment after she had pinned him where their eyes had met and she couldn't recognize who she was looking at.

Maybe the reason that had frightened her so much was because of the unbearable sense that he had been taken from them. She had fully felt helpless until everything about him changed back to the dog she knew.

 _Gabriel's tough. . . he'll be ok, I know he will. . . I don't know why I'm worrying about him so much._

Dis had finally reached the point where she and Blitz had crossed the river and it was here that they had picked up his scent again. Though Blitz had keener senses than hers, hers were still sharp enough to notice something Blitz had overlooked.

Now that she was here in the daylight, she noticed there were two sets of tracks. They both looked to be made by the same paws. One set went upstream, and the other went downstream. Whatever had happened to Gabriel, it had happened further downstream of the river and he had come back the same way he went.

She looked ahead and saw that the blood trail did indeed continue further on along with the tracks, so she kept going. Wondering the whole time what kind of trouble she was getting herself into. Whatever had almost killed Gabriel, she was walking right toward it.

Somehow, that didn't scare her. What she felt growing in her with every step wasn't even close to fear or nerves. It was determination and anger.

"We're in this together, Gabriel. For life. "

Fueled and emboldened by compassion, her legs no longer felt slow and heavy. They no longer hurt her with every step either. In fact, they became more and more effortless to move the longer she went on.

It dawned on her that she was making the same walk Gabriel had, and just like it had been for him, it was a long one. It said a lot to her about his resiliency for him to still be alive.

To be in such pain, almost frozen from the cold, bleeding in solitude and completely and hopelessly isolated from everyone. Dis wondered if Gabriel had actually tried to die, but that made no sense to her.

Why would he intentionally try to break the promise they had made to each other so long ago? After all, it had been his idea and through some strange and pure energy that passed between them, they had all experienced a change that words had never been able to describe.

Ever since then, the idea of going anywhere or doing anything without each other had seemed ridiculous. Even if that was what she was doing now.

As the time passed, they all grew in their own right, but they also grew closer. If what they shared back then couldn't be described as love, it definitely was now. There was honest fear bubbling inside her that Gabriel could possibly slip away from her and Blitz. Even if it wasn't in body, if it was just his mind that broke.

Dis's steps came to a stop just then. She only just noticed the absence of the sound of the river. It had curved away from her as she continued walking forward.

Her mind had carried her far and away, just as her paws carried her forward through the trees and snow.

Gabriel's scent was still strong, but now there was another scent mingling with it.

A foreign scent she did not recognize; an entirely different smell altogether. This one was wild.

"A wolf?" Dis questioned, leaning her head down and sniffing the ground. It was another male's scent, but not one she was familiar with. Since wolves never came close to Nome, she had never met one, but this was much farther away from home than they had ever explored. She became aware then, of just how far she had wandered from where Blitz and Gabriel were sleeping and just how far away home was.

At a guess, she figured she had followed the tracks for close to a mile now.

"What were you doing all the way out here Gabriel?" She asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to answer her. Part of her just wanted to know he was going to be okay, part of her hoped Blitz would be able to get some answers from him by time she made it back.

 _If I make it back. . ._

The thought barely had time to go through her head before her ears caught the faint sound of voices. They stood up on top of her head as she strained her hearing to catch what they were saying.

Somehow, hearing others nearby had a way of rooting her to the spot. She couldn't have moved a muscle even if she had wanted to for fear of them hearing her. Her paws found purchase on the rocky hills she now stood on, and everything locked up.

Whatever had brought Gabriel out this far, it was just a little farther ahead, at the top of the hill. Whoever had hurt him, it had happened here. She couldn't have said how she knew that, but there wasn't a trace of doubt in her about it. She simply knew and even felt certain that one of the voices she was hearing belonged to the one who had almost killed Gabriel.

"Must you leave already? But It's still so early."

It was a female voice, sounding almost like a whine. Dis leaned forward, willing the voices to speak louder.

"You know I can't stay. You shouldn't either."

This voice was male, deep and didn't at all share the affectionate tone the female had spoken with. Compared to hers, his voice sounded practically annoyed, but in a reluctant sort of way that made it feel like he was forcing himself to do something he didn't want to.

"What's the rush? Come on, relax. Stay just a little longer?" Her voice sounded almost desperate.

For a moment that felt like ten, the male voice didn't say anything. Dis heard him grunt, but no sounds of movement. She wanted to move closer so she could hear better, but it was like her paws were fused with the frozen ground. She simply could not move them.

"Nikki, you know I can't linger here." The male said finally, his tone completely different now. He wasn't even trying to hide the defeat in his voice now.

 _Nikki?_

The name didn't mean anything to Dis, but it meant something to have the name of someone who was at least involved with what happened to Gabriel. She seriously doubted this female could have actually been the one who hurt him, but that didn't make her innocent.

As strong as she was herself, Gabriel had always managed to hold his own when they had wrestled. Pinning her just as often as she pinned him.

"I know that, Dart. Just a little longer is all I'm asking."

 _Dart. . ._

Dis felt certain this was the brute she had been looking for. She could still smell that odd wild scent in the air, but it was much more concentrated here. Almost overwhelming her nose. Though she did not know exactly what it was, something in her told her that it was not good. That it was a warning she should heed and get far away from.

She ignored it though, her need for answers was too great to just run away.

 _It's so strange. . . It almost smells like Blitz and Gabriel, but it's different. So similar and so different at the same time. . . what does it mean?_

Her brain buzzed with questions at such a dizzying speed it would have been a blessing to turn her thoughts off, but she couldn't do it. She was far too inquisitive by nature to let a question go unanswered. If she did, it nagged at her constantly. It was almost enough to drive her mad.

What did Gabriel, Blitz, and this stranger named Dart have in common? It was their smell, but that didn't exactly answer her question. She needed a real answer, something that would put the question to rest in her mind.

"We're not leaving yet." Dart said, sounding more tense, pulling Dis out of her thoughts again.

"It appears that Slyth is having difficulties of his own. He has yet to find her."

Dis's heart practically skipped a beat in her chest. She was tingling with anticipation, her curiosity mounting ever higher.

 _Slyth? Who is he and who is he looking for?_

As if she could hear Dis's thoughts, Nikki gave voice to that very question.

"Who is she anyway?"

Dart snorted, half amused and half agitated.

"Who she is isn't exactly important, but she is someone I need taken care of."

There was an uneasy edge to his words that made a shudder, which had nothing to do with the cold, ripple through Dis's body.

"I assume by taken care of, you mean the same way as Slyth." Nikki spoke with the same edge to her words, like planning the death of others was a perfectly normal thing to discuss.

"Of course. I stand to lose a great deal if either of them make it to Heaven."

His voice continued to sharpen, but Dis was confused by what he had just said. She was certain she had misheard Dart because it flatly made no sense.

Partially not wanting to do it, yet unable to help herself, Dis crouched down low to the ground and crept closer. Just a step at first, then another, and then another.

That smell, so thick and so earthly, it grew ever more pungent in her nose. Though there were only two voices, she could smell at least two more.

 _Why, why, why! Why is Gabriel a part of this? How? How is he mixed up with this Slyth character or this female they are looking for?_

Her jaw clenched, pressing her teeth together tightly, trying to process it all.

"Heaven?" Nikki's voice almost seemed to echo in Dis's mind as if she were far far away, down some infinitely long tunnel that they were on opposite ends of, despite her slow and silent approach.

Something horrible was filling her and she couldn't say whether she was going to snap or be sick, maybe both.

A sigh escaped Dart. A rough and defeated kind of thing at first, but then he seemed to gather himself.

"Another time Nikki." He said it so pointedly that there could be no arguing with him.

Dis got the feeling that he had not meant to say anything at all about this Heaven, whatever it was.

Nikki made no attempts to press him either. Clearly, she had gotten the same message as Dis. For several long moments, their conversation paused. Leaving Dis to stand there, doing everything in her power to not make a sound. It was a ridiculous thought, but she was strangely certain that if she so much as dared to move or breathe or blink, they would hear her.

While she wasn't exactly fearful of that, it would spoil this golden opportunity to find out some information on exactly what the hell was going on.

So far, she hadn't learned anything real concrete. More questions were rising in her head, but her gut was filling in a lot of the blanks. A very vague picture had begun to form in her mind, but it was still unclear, like she were looking at it through a very heavy fog. A thick white cloud which she could almost see through, but also could not.

Silhouettes were all she had in her mind's eye. One female, one male, a dark shape that had no discernable shape or size, and Gabriel. The fog had a uncomfortable red tint to it. Blood red, and screaming of danger. . . and death.

Gabriel was the only one among them that was even remotely recognizable, and even still he only just barely resembled the dog she and Blitz had grown up with.

She could see the three dark figures standing around him. He lay limply on the ground in a dark red puddle, completely motionless, his eyes horribly empty.

It was enough to make her want to scream and if she wasn't so hellbent on staying silent, she may very well have. Even though it was a dumb and foolish idea, it was still a tempting idea. Her throat rumbled silently then.

"What do you think happened to Gabriel?" Nikki asked, finally breaking the silence. She sounded only mildly concerned, like she was only trying to keep Dart talking. As if she thought he wouldn't leave as long as she kept him talking.

At the mention of his name, Dis's ear twitched.

 _Finally. . . this is it._

Dart actually started laughing.

The deep rumbling chortles rang offensively in Dis's ears. Her anger rose ever higher as he continued to laugh. She decided right then and there, she was going to make this guy pay dearly. To do what he had done to Gabriel and laugh about it could only mean there was no remorse in him. Somehow in his mind, Gabriel had deserved what happened to him, and that made her anger intensify that much more.

"Oh there's no telling where that brainless wonder wandered off to die. It makes no difference, he did his part and now that that part is done, I have no more need of him."

Nothing could have further stoked the fire that was Dis's fury. Her paws trembled, her sharp white teeth bared, the golden hue in her eyes now a more orange tint.

She was almost beyond sense. The idea of charging in and attacking while their guard was down crossed her mind. The only thing that stopped her was the invisible force that still had her locked firmly in place.

All she could do was force herself to breathe and to try and calm down.

Listening to the pull and release of her own breath, hearing her own wild heartbeat in her chest, her mind turned to the other side of what Dart had just said.

 _His part is done? His part in what?_

While she struggled to figure out how Gabriel was mixed up with these two, the conversation went on.

"Do you think you went a little too far?" Nikki pressed for further details.

Dart didn't say anything, but his laughter had dwindled away into nothing.

"You weren't wrong to hit him, but did you really mean to blind him?" Now she sounded almost timid. Wanting to hear the answers, but also not wanting to be the one to ask the questions.

There was a dismissal sort of snort, then Dart answered bluntly.

"Yes, if he hadn't managed to do what he did, he would be short an eye."

He paused, took a few breaths, then continued.

"I might have cut him deeper than I intended, but it's no matter. At least he managed to impress me once before he died."

In the next few moments following Dart's words, Dis felt certain her self control was going to fail her.

She was now hunched forward, prepared to pounce and strike, feeling her heartbeat thunder so hard against her chest that it felt like she was about to choke.

Hot, angry tears filled and blurred her vision. Standing here and listening to these two discuss murdering her friend was tearing her up inside. Anger no longer described what she was feeling. That had certainly been the right word, but it had continued to build and build and now, it was beyond words.

"So, you're absolutely certain that he's dead?" Nikki asked, still timidly.

"Oh yes, Nikki. That dog is lying in the snow somewhere right now, either dead or dying. It's not a question of _if_ he's dead, it's a question of _when_. . ."

The finality of his words truly brought everything into focus for Dis. The full reality of what could have been smacking her hard in the face.

This would have been the outcome of her decision to stay home.

The only one who changed it, the only one who was even aware of what was happening, was Blitz. Maybe she wasn't fully aware of everything, but she had known there was something wrong and that was enough to make all the difference.

 _If he believes Gabriel is dead, at least he's safe now._

An image of him and Blitz still curled up and asleep flashed through her mind, and she felt a deep seeded need to get back to them. Some strange kind of force which almost pulled her toward them.

 _Not yet. . ._

She still hadn't found out everything she wanted and she wasn't willing to leave until they did, or she got her answers.

She had the who, the how, the when, and the where. What still nagged at her, was the question Blitz was always the first one to ask.

 _Why. . ._

Why indeed was the question that never had a suitable answer, only another question. Another Why. Why was Gabriel so far from home and so near death? Why was he mixed up with riff-raff like this? Why were they here? Why, why, why. . .

"Of course, he brought it on himself. He can only blame himself for what happened." Nikki breathed.

"You think so, Nikki? Would it be unfair to say that you are at least partially to blame for what happened?" Dart's voice was just as blunt as earlier, but it didn't carry any of its usual sinister tone.

Nikki was the one who laughed this time.

"That would be a fair thing to say, my love, but I will have to disagree with you about that."

"Oh yea? Explain it then." His voice practically boomed with sharp amusement.

"Well. . ." Nikki began, " How am I to blame for him not knowing how to hold his tongue?"

"Come on, Nikki. You don't honestly think I killed him because of that." Dart sounded even more amused by this, like this was their way of having fun.

"It wasn't?" Genuine surprise made itself heard in Nikki's voice for the first time.

"Nope. Want to try again?"

Dis's claws dug deeply into the ground. Her nerves couldn't stand listening to this kind of nonsense much longer. What she needed to know was almost in her grasp, all she had to do was wait, listen, and be quiet.

She was also struggling against the urge to be sick.

"You killed him because of. . . my mistake?" Nikki asked, sounding rather sheepish and uncertain.

Dart obviously didn't care to make her guess anymore. "Nikki, I made an example out of the moron. Best use I've ever had out of him. A rather proud ending for him if you ask me."

"Proud?" Nikki chuckled. "Is that how you want to die Dart? Alone in the snow and bleeding to death?"

"How I die is of no concern to me. I'm not dying anytime soon, so don't you worry about that." He spoke very plainly and there wasn't the faintest hint of doubt in his voice about it either.

"Okay, so Gabriel died because Slyth is still alive?" Nikki asked, moving swiftly away from the subject of Dart's death.

 _That name again. . . Who is this guy?_

Whoever he was, he was in danger. Him, and this other female they were searching for. That much was clear to Dis, but she was certain the name Slyth was one she had never heard before.

She had to ignore the insults about Gabriel now, if she didn't, she would have certainly lost it and that was something she couldn't let herself do. Not now, not when the answer she needed was so close.

 _Bite your tongue Dis. Bite it, and don't you dare make a move!_

"Exactly." Dart said triumphantly. "I had to pick someone. Poor pathetic Gabriel picked himself when he opened his mouth."

Nikki sounded much different when she spoke again. All of her previous amusement gone, instead she sounded rather defeated.

"So, maybe I do share some of the blame then."

"Why don't you tell me, how did you come to that conclusion? Spell it out for me. Beginning to end, I want to hear it from you." Dart didn't sound unkind, but his tone was much more serious.

Nikki sounded a bit caught off guard by the request, but she answered without hesitation all the same.

"It went exactly the way it was supposed to for Gabriel and Storm. I was responsible for getting Slyth where we needed him, which I did. But I got the wrong dog. . . Right place, right time. . . wrong dog."

Dis continued taking shaky breath after shaky breath, both quick and sharp. Feeling a lump in her stomach grow more and more uncomfortable as Nikki spoke.

Dart regarded her with the same unwavering somber tone.

"You got the wrong dog. How exactly does something like that happen, Nikki?"

"He looked just like Slyth." Nikki sounded so matter-of-fact about it.

Dis could almost visually see her shrugging as she said it.

"That's all I can say about it. I was certain that was Slyth. He even had that wolfish scent I love so much about you." Nikki went on.

 _Wolfish? What does she mean by that?_

"Spare me the details of how you got him out so late." Dart said plainly.

"Oh, you'd be surprised by how easily he came." Nikki laughed.

"Followed me like a lost little puppy. . . It feels kind of weird talking about him now that he's gone."

Dart didn't say anything at first. There was a short pause, broken only by his grunt, before he spoke.

"Well, unfortunately the one I needed gone is still here, so we still have a bit of a problem to deal with, and not a lot of time to deal with it."

"How much time do you think we have? Nikki asked, sounding bewildered.

"That all depends on Slyth" Dart started.

"Either he finds her and we have completely failed, or we stop that from happening. That's what I'm counting on you for. Can you do that, Nikki?"

"Anything for you, my love." Nikki's voice swelled with deep affection, like Dart had given her some kind of compliment only she could understand.

"What about this girl Slyth is searching for. . . do you think you can find her before he does?"

There was another pause before Dart spoke, as if he were thinking the question over.

"Yes, of course I could. It's best if we deal with Slyth first though. Once he's out of the picture, I'll find her myself."

"You sound pretty confident about it. If Slyth can't track her, how do you plan to?" Nikki pressed, still sounding delighted.

"Oh, Nikki." Dart laughed "That's precisely what I was sent here to do. I'm Slyth's replacement."

It was becoming more and more clear to Dis as they talked that something big was going on. Whatever this was, someone was already dead because of it. This dog, whoever he was, had been killed when he was mistaken for Slyth.

These two, Nikki and Dart, they were planning another attempt to kill him.

 _What was that other name they mentioned? Storm?_

How he fit into all of this was just another question in her mind. This female they were searching for, whoever she was, she was in just as much danger as Slyth.

Whatever Dart meant by being his replacement, Dis was certain it wouldn't be good news for anyone. It had already spelled trouble for Gabriel.

 _Gabriel. . ._

Her mind struggled to cope with the idea that Gabriel had been involved in anyway with these two. It felt like a poison infecting her mind because it simply made no sense to her. Whatever his involvement, Dart had made him a scapegoat, and that was another insult she couldn't swallow.

Nikki started to say something, but Dart cut her off before she could get it out.

"The day is getting on, Nikki."

Dis couldn't tell what Dart did next, but a low purr sort of sound came from Nikki as he did it.

"Oh." She said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

In the moments of silence that followed, Dis felt certain that this was her opportunity to move without being heard.

If they were about to leave - which it sounded like Dart was about to - they would certainly see her crouched here, only a dozen or so steps away from them. If that happened, she was sure she would end up as bad as Gabriel.

As tempting as it was to strike now while they were unguarded and distracted, taking them both on alone would have been a foolish idea.

 _No, I need to get back to Blitz and Gabriel. . ._

Sensing danger, feeling an immediate need to get back, Dis decided now was the time to retreat.

Carefully and slowly, she backed up step by step, making sure not to give herself away by making the slightest noise they might hear.

Whatever they were doing, it was enough to keep their attention as she retreated.

Even so, Dis couldn't take her eyes off that spot, right where the hill crested, right where she almost expected to see a face appear.

With each step, that urgency in her grew stronger and stronger. So strong, she felt certain something bad was going to happen if she didn't get back soon.

Exactly what was going to happen, she couldn't say. They were well hidden after all, nothing should be able to happen to them there. She couldn't have even said how she knew this or why she felt it wouldn't happen if she were there.

Her emotions were on the brink of their endurance. Perhaps she was just losing it, but that didn't seem like it. Close, maybe, but not exactly. She felt very lucid for someone who was about to crack if that was the case.

No, what it really felt like, was almost regret. So many things about what she had done and how terrible they were had begun to really dawn on her. Things she had known were bad ideas, yet she still did them anyway.

The whole time she had walked here and the whole time she had spent eavesdropping, something had been warning her, but she had found it so easy to ignore at the time. Now, however. . .

Now she was acutely aware of how foolish she had been to come here, to leave her friends behind, to put herself in such a vulnerable position.

Her voice of reason had always been Blitz, but Blitz couldn't help her now.

Answers was what she wanted. . . answers was what she got. But now she had no idea what to do with the information.

How could Gabriel have anything to do with this crazy plot going on around them. She wasn't a part of it, but she had stuck her nose in it all the same. Was that how Gabriel got involved?

It definitely sounded better than the alternative.

Now that the time had come to leave, she found herself chastising herself for ever coming in the first place.

 _What a dumb idea. . . I should have never left. I should have stayed put. That's where I should be right now, that's where they need me. . ._

Her thoughts were cut off just then when she took another slow step back, and felt herself bump into something behind her.

"Well, well, well. What's a pretty girl like you doing out here all by yourself?"

Dis turned around and saw, in a moment of hear-stopping terror, that it wasn't something she had backed into, it was someone. Someone she didn't recognize who had an oddly satisfied look fixed on her.

There was something violating about the way he was looking at her. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Immediately, she knew the danger she was in had just become much much more real.

Panic began to well up in her, filling her till she could hardly think. She had been so focused on staying silent that it hadn't even occurred to her that someone else could have snuck up behind her as well.

 _Run!_

Only there was no place to run. She was trapped.

Before she could move, before she could do anything at all, the male held up one paw and flashed four horribly sharp claws at her.

"Why don't you climb back up that hill and introduce yourself. It's only good manners. . ."

At the same time, she could hear scuffling from behind her and she knew that they had been heard. She was caught, and she had no idea what to do.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

First thing's first. Let me apologize for being inconsistent with my updates. I really do work hard on each chapter of this story until I feel like it's post-worthy.

So, how'd you like a solo Dis chapter? I certainly loved writing it, and exploring the relationship between Nikki and Dart is fun. Definitely a fun couple to play with, but there's going to be plenty more of that in later chapters.

Anyway, this chapter could have ended a couple ways, and I debated for a few days which way to close it. I was truly hesitant to end it the way I did, but once I wrote it, it was a clear decision which ending fit best here.

At over 8k words, this was the longest chapter by far, so I hope you enjoyed reading it!

I'm eager to hear what you think while I get busy on writing Chapter Six.


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